A Word On The Word for Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion 2007

To listen click here.
Produced for Saint Gregory the Great Danbury, Connecticut April 1, 2007

Peace be with you. Our pastor is Fr. Angelo Arrando. This week Music from Citizen Six, in place of the Homily: Vatican Radio describes Palm Sunday at Saint Peter's Square, news from Saint Gregory the Great and the Vatican plus the Crossroad message; 'Jesus shows us how much He truly loves us' and a message from Pope Benedict for Holy Week. Please pray for Marion R., Arthur B., Edmund S., Victims of the Iraqi Conflict, Victims of terrorists and all sick and deceased members of the parish.

The readings for this week are from the Prophet Isaiah, the letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians plus the Gospel and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. To hear them click on our link.

Bulletin announcements include:
This is Holy week. Take a look in the bulletin in your parish and find out when the Holy week services are to be held. There is a link to the Diocese of Bridgeport there as well. If you are from another church check your local listings. And note that many Parish Offices will be closed Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday.
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MANY THANKS to the volunteers who prepared and completed the necessary but laborious task of the parish Easter mailing last week: Kora A., Tori A., Nick C., Jonathan D., Olivia D., Rachael D., Stephanie D., Alex F., Megan H., Allison I., Richard M., Devan N., Stephanie S., Nicole S. and Justin W. We are grateful for your effort and time commitment. Thank you so much!
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KNOW GOD’S LOVE AGAIN
Are you someone who regrets having an abortion and believes that you’re not welcome in Church anymore? Do you feel the pain of your decision and long to feel the Lord’s love and mercy once again? If so, then a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat can restore you and help you feel the loving touch of our Lord.
This retreat will be held from 7:00 pm Friday, April 13, through 4:00 pm Sunday, April 15, in a private, small and confidential setting. For more details. All contacts are kept in the strictest confidence.
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Following in the footsteps of the Vatican and Saint Gregory the Great parish Bishop Lori has embarked, this week, onto the World Wide Web. Find his entry at BishopLoriBlog.org. As he says in his first entry: Pope Benedict has urged that "we must use the modern methods of making ourselves be heard in a reasonable way - or better yet, of making the voice of the Lord accessible and comprehensible ". So good luck Bishop Lori as we all travel this road together.
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Now here is a word from Vatican Radio...
The faith is for everyone, This is world youth day, There are symbols of faith all around us, and this is the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI encyclical on the Development of Peoples.

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We come to the Crossroad and find Jesus, humbling Himself out of love for us. He did not shield His face from buffets and spitting but offered His life on the cross. He relied on His Father’s love. So we ask Adults & Teens: When have I betrayed the confidence of another; as Peter did when he denied Jesus? What can I do about this?
And Children: How and when can I share my love for each member of my family this week?

Today begins Holy Week - the week that has as its purpose, the remembrance of Christ’s passion, beginning with His Messianic entrance into Jerusalem.
In today’s gospel, when Jesus announces that one of the apostles will betray Him, it causes great anxiety among them. They ask each other, “Which of us would do this?” We learn about Judas and Peter and we know that almost all of Jesus’ friends betrayed Him by abandoning Him. Beneath their question is the suspicion that anyone of them could fall short and betray Jesus’ call to truth and love, if the cost is too great. It reminds us that we, too, can and have betrayed Jesus’ mission of love and service.

Jesus understands our struggle. Later in the gospel, He says “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they do.” We are called again and again to love and to serve, to fall and to rise in the hope and knowledge of the resurrection. We are called to accept God’s love for us-so much that He gave His only Son to save us.

The Triduum, which is Latin for “three days”, comes at the end of Holy Week and comprises the three-day period of prayer - leading to the Easter feast: the fulfillment of the entire liturgical year.
On Holy Thursday, the Church celebrates the Lord’s Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. The custom of footwashing, recalling how Jesus washed His disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, is often observed.
Good Friday is the only day of the year on which Mass is not celebrated. Our Liturgy consists of proclaiming John’s passion account, intercessions, veneration of the cross, and a communion service.
The The Easter Vigil Liturgy on Holy Saturday ends the Triduum and begins our celebration of the Resurrection. It is at this liturgy that our RCIA candidates enter the fullness of our Church by receiving the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation.

Our music this week is the Arrival by Citizen Six; who writes score music for movies that do not exist.

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This week we end with a wish from Pope Benedict XVI as he spoke to the crowd at the general audience the day before Maundy Thursday last year.
"This is what I wish all of you from my heart, dear brothers and sisters, hoping that you will prepare with faith and devotion for the imminent Easter celebrations. May you be accompanied by Mary Most Holy, who, after having followed her divine Son in the hour of the passion and cross, shared the joy of his resurrection."
For the entire message.

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Well that's A Word on the Word for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion 2007. The production is released under a Creative Commons license, some rights are reserved. Please drop us a line, let us know what you think at A Word on the Word [at] gmail.com.

A Word on the Word Executive producer is Father Angelo Arrando, and is produced by Gregory Wencek, on behalf of Saint Gregory the Great parish. God bless and Peace be With you.