Get Ready for Holiest Days of the Year

This weekend, we present our Elect and Candidates for a special rite in which, together with the entire congregation, they will scrutinize their consciences. As a reminder, the Elect are those preparing to receive Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, while the Candidates are already baptized in another Christian tradition and are seeking full communion with the Catholic Church through Confirmation and Eucharist. This rite will take place at the 9:30 AM Mass.

All of this leads to the Easter Vigil—the pinnacle of our liturgical year. Beginning next weekend, we enter Holy Week, which opens with Palm Sunday. The Chrism Mass at the Cathedral follows on Monday. Then, we transition from Lent into the sacred Triduum: three holy days beginning with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, followed by Good Friday, and Holy Saturday when the Easter Vigil takes place. It is on this evening where our Elect and Candidates will receive the three awesome Sacraments in the journey to become Catholics. This is a celebration you should not miss! The celebrations don’t stop there. Easter Sunday then follows the Triduum, and it is this Sunday when coming to Mass early is truly an important strategy in order to simply get a seat in the church. So, plan well now for these celebrations and pray for all of us who will be leading use through these sacred days.

It all begins in just one week. This annual journey of feasts draws us deeper into the mystery of how God rescued us from darkness and brought us into His marvelous light. Please refer to this bulletin for dates and times for each of these powerful celebrations!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Graphic Credit: ChatGPT

Holy Week & Triduum

Dear Parishioners,

We have now entered Holy Week with the celebration of Palm Sunday. On Monday, the priests serving in the Archdiocese of Portland will gather for the annual Chrism Mass at 7 PM at St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. There we will renew our promises that we made on the day of ordination. Also, the Archbishop will bless the Holy Oils (Oil of the Sick, Oil of Catechumens, and the Sacred Chrism) which will be brought back to the parishes. 

Triduum

We then get ready for the Triduum (pronounced, “trid-oo-oom” which encompasses Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. Both Holy Thursday and Good Friday services begin at 7 PM. The Easter Vigil will begin at 8:30 PM.

Holy Thursday

On Holy Thursday, we commemorate the Lord’s Supper. At this Mass, the Gloria is sung for the first time in since just before Ash Wednesday. During that Gloria, an Altar Server will wring the hand bells all throughout. In past years, the bells actually came loose and fell off, leaving the server a bit confused. We’ve since then glue them in place with Loctite! After the homily,  the symbolic “washing of the feet” takes place. Pre-selected representative members of the church will come forward to have their feet washed by the priest. Then Mass continues. A collection is taken up and then brought forward, along with the Holy Oils that were blessed at the Chrism Mass.  The Mass ends with a procession of the Eucharist to an altar of repose where the faithful are encouraged to remain in a vigil of adoration.  

Good Friday

On Good Friday, we will host an Ecumenical Stations of the Cross including members of several churches in the Grants Pass area.  This will take place at Noon.  

Later in the evening (7 PM) of Good Friday, the liturgy of the Triduum continues with the priest, deacon, and servers entering the church silently. The priest then prostrates himself upon reaching the front of the sanctuary. All are encouraged to kneel. After the prostration is concluded, the Liturgy of the Word commences, climaxing with a dramatic reading of the Gospel’s Passion Narrative. Following is the Solemn Intercessions which are explicit prescribed so that all Catholic Churches are praying the same thing that day. A collection for the Holy Land is taken up. Then the Rite of the Adoration of the Holy Cross takes place. A single cross is brought into the church so that the faithful may come forward to venerate the cross. Families and groups are encouraged to come forward together to offer their veneration. This is not a Mass, but Holy Communion that was consecrated on Holy Thursday is given to the faithful. Afterwards, the Altar is cleared and the priest, deacon, and servers depart in silence.

Holy Saturday

On Holy Saturday, the community will gather around a fire in the courtyard of the church.  From this fire, the Paschal Candle will be blessed and lit. A procession will form into the church, lead by the deacon carrying the Paschal Candle. The Exultet will be chanted followed by an extensive series of Scriptures proclaimed. After the last Old Testament reading, hand bells are run all during the singing of the Gloria. Let’s pray that the bells can hold on through it all! After the Liturgy of the Word, those who are to be baptized will process to the baptismal font. There, the baptismal font will be blessed and our Elect will be baptized. After the newly baptized have changed into dry clothes, they will join the Candidates to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.  The Liturgy of the Eucharist will take place where our new Catholics will receive their First Holy Communion.  

I hope that you will make an effort to participate in these amazing celebrations of Christ Paschal Mystery. They carry the power to deepen our faith and fill us with joy as we walk along the path with Jesus from his passion to his resurrection. 

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Holy Week Approaches

Dear Parishioners,

We are near the end of Lent and about to enter Holy Week. Beginning with Palm Sunday, the Church gears up, liturgically speaking, to help guide us, spiritually, to celebrate the most important mysteries of Christianity—Christ’s Paschal Mystery: His suffering, death, and resurrection. While we are still just a week out, might I suggest you consider marking your calendar for the following events:

April 14 - Palm Sunday (ST. Anne, St. Patrick, Our Lady of the River)

April 15 - Chrism Mass w/ Priests’ Renewal of Promises & Blessing of Holy Oils @ 7 PM
(St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland)

April 18 - Holy Thursday Mass @ 7 PM (st. Anne & St. Patrick)

April 19 - Good Friday Ecumenical Stations of the Cross @ Noon (St. Anne)

    Good Friday Service w/ Veneration of the Cross @ 7 PM (st. Anne & St. Patrick)

April 20 - Easter Vigil Mass w/ Blessing of Fire and Paschal Candle, Exultet,
Extended Scripture Readings, Baptisms, Confirmations, and
Eucharist for RCIA @ 8:30 PM (St. Anne)

April 21 - Easter Sunday Masses

St. Anne: 8 AM, 9:30 AM, & 11 AM (bilingual)
St. Patrick of the Forest: 11 AM
Our Lady of the River: 9 AM

Please consider inviting family, friends, and neighbors to join you in these most important mysteries of Christianity. Again, mark your calendars!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Holy Week

Dear Parishioners,

We have begun Holy Week, the week that begins on Palm Sunday and concludes on Easter Vigil. It is the highlight of the entire Church year.  On Monday, all the priests serving in the Archdiocese of Portland gather at the Cathedral on Monday at 7 PM for the Chrism Mass.  At that Mass, we rededicate ourselves in ministry and the Holy Oils (Oil of the Sick, Oil of the Catechumens, and Oil of Chrism) are blessed and given to us to bring back to our parishes. We return to our parishes and then prepare for the Triduum, the holy three days from Thursday to Saturday. 

On Holy Thursday Mass (7 PM), we will celebrate the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood.  Historically, twelve people would come forward to have their feet washed as a commemoration of the events of the Last Supper.  Pope Francis officially changed that ritual which spoke of selecting "men who have been chosen” to “those chosen from the among the People of God.” This means the ritual includes men, women, children, and any of those representing the variety and unity of the People of God. Pope Francis chose to make these changes “so that it might express more fully the meaning of Jesus’ gesture in the Cenacle, His giving of Himself unto the end for the salvation of the world, His limitless charity”. At the Preparation of the Gifts, we formally receive the Holy Oils at our church.  Mass continues with solemnity. The conclusion of the Mass calls for a formal procession with the ciborium with all the consecrated hosts to a place of repose and adoration.  We will be processing to the Parish Center.

On Good Friday, there is no Mass, but services commemorating the Lord’s Blessed Passion.  At noon, all are invited to an ecumenical gathering of the faithful at Calvary Lutheran Church where various ministers from some of the Christian communities will lead us in worship and commemoration.  Later at 7 PM, we will offer our Good Friday Service where we listen to an extended proclamation of the Passion of our Lord, offer a solemn veneration of the Cross, and offer communion from the previous day’s Mass. At this service, the entrance and recessional are done in silence, for it is a sort of an "in-between” service bridging us from Thursday to Saturday.

On Holy Saturday, there are no other activities other than the Easter Vigil which will begin at 8:30 PM at St. Anne.  At the Mass, we begin with the blessing of the Easter Fire from which we light our new Paschal Candle.  After processing in the church with lighted candles, we listen to an extended portion of the Scriptures giving us an overview of salvation history.  Then we move to the rites of initiation where we will baptize (some by immersion) the Elect and receive into full communion those who have been journeying as Candidates.  Then all will be confirmed and receive their First Holy Communion.  The Mass ends with a reception in the Hall.

I want to strongly urge you all to make every effort to be present to the events of the Triduum.  It is by these Mysteries that the gates of Heaven were made open to us by the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

More on the New Roman Missal

Dear Parishioners,

This past week, Fr. Dominic and I joined the rest of the priests of the Archdiocese for our annual Priest Convocation in Newport. While there we had the opportunity to, once again, listen to Fr. Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B. a priest and monk of Mount Angel Abbey. Fr. Jeremy is part of the Vox Clara Committee who was directly involved in the new translation of the Roman Missal, also known as the Sacramentary. This is the big red book that the priest uses to proclaim the prayers of the Mass. In his talk, Fr. Jeremy discussed the basic principles of the translation and walked through thethird Eucharistic Prayer as well as answered questions from the priests.

It is important that we all study and become familiar with the Sacred Liturgy of the Mass and the upcoming new translation. As such, I will be offering another Catholicism 101 on the new Roman Missal which will take place this month on the 23rd between the Sunday Masses. In addition, we are putting special inserts about the new missal and the translation for your further study.

If you would like to listen to Fr. Jeremy's talks, you can go to www.mysteriesofthemass,com or subscribe via iTunes by searching for my last name or "mysteries of the mass" in the search bar. Also, I will make available some CD for check out at the office.

I am very excited about this upcoming change. It will be like hearing the Mass anew yet old. I also ask for your prayers for all us priests who will bear the greatest burden of making sure we offer the Mass in this new translation in a way that maintains its beauty and dignity. Please forgive us when we mess up because the previous wording is so ingrained in our memories. Until then, may the Lord be with you...

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Confessions & Holy Week

Reconciliation

This coming week we will be offering extra opportunities to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation. One will be a communal celebration at St. Patrick’s on Tuesday at 7:00 PM followed by another at St. Anne’s on Thursday at 7:00 PM. We will offer our last opportunity for individual confessions on Fri- day from Noon to 2:00 PM at St. Anne. Please make use of this awesome gift given to the Church by Christ. It can change your whole life.

Holy Week

Next week begins Holy Week. The first of those celebrations is held at the cathedral in Portland, the Chrism Mass where all the priests join in renewing their priestly ministry and the holy oils are blessed. If you’ve never been to this celebration, it is a must see and participate event! What follows is our Holy Thursday Mass where we commemorate the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. The oils previously blessed by the Archbishop will be presented, members of the parish will have their feet washed, and a solemn process of the Blessed Sacrament will take place with adoration to follow. On Good Friday, I and Fr. Dominic will be participating in an ecumenical stations of the cross service at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. After the stations, I have been invited to preach a sermon. All are welcome. Later that night, we will offer our own Good Friday Service with the passion narrative proclaimed followed by veneration of the cross and communion. It all culminates with Holy Saturday where our Elect will be plunged into the baptismal waters, many by immersion. Those who had been previously baptized in another Christian tradition will declare their profession of faith in the Catholic Tradition and join the Elect to be confirmed and receive the Eucharist for the first time.

Please note the times for all our Easter Masses, and invite a friend or neighbor to come home for Easter to simply join you for the celebration. After the 11:00 AM Mass, we will be offer- ing an Easter egg hunt for the children.

All these events are for the glory of God and our own journey of faith. May God who suffered and died for us all raise us up with all those who have gone before us.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor

Two Things

Dear Parishioners,

Last week I offered two different presentation. The first was on the new Roman Missal. The second was on Pope John Paul’s Theology of the Body. I’d like to offer a couple thoughts about those topics.

First, the new Roman Missal. Maybe you are aware, but then maybe not. So, it is important to know that the prayers and texts we use during Mass (not including the scripture readings) are going to be changing a bit. In 2001, the Church published a document, Liturgiam Authenticam, which spelled out new guidelines for translating liturgical texts. One of those guidelines called for a more literal translation from the original Latin. As it turns out, our English translation of our Sacramentary is not a literal, but a more more loose translation, specifically called a “dynamic equivalence” translation, from the Latin original. Other major language groups are more literal, and therefore are in the great need, as we are, to have our liturgical books revised. Another issue is that many smaller language groups use our English translation to derive their own. So, by the time they have their books translated, there is a real potential of being quite removed from the original Latin. So, a new translation has been created after much discussion and debate, and we will begin using that new translation at the beginning of this coming Advent. You can learn what is changing by visiting the U.S. Bishop’s web site (www.usccb.org/romanmissal). In addition, I will hold a repeat reflection (date TBA) about the new missal. You can also visit one of my web sites (www.mysteriesofthemass.com) and listen to Fr. Jeremy Driscoll, OSB who was one of the translators. Finally, in the weeks just prior to the change, we will be taking out special time in our homilies to explain, review, practice, and learn the new parts that you will need to say.

Secondly, I want to thank all the adults, parishioners, and parents who supported our five week journey through the Theology of the Body series during our Youth Ministry nights. We spent five weeks in a row, yes even including Superbowl Sunday, learning and discussing the meaning of our bodies in light of Pope John Paul’s catechetical program of sex and marriage. A week prior to that, I offered an adult crash course so that parents, engaged couples, and anyone else could learn the basics for their own lives. I pray that the things we talked about will be seminal points of reference for all who attended these important workshops. Your support and prayers made the entire experience a huge success. If you want to learn more on your own, visit www.christopherwest.com and you can order a variety of media right from the web site.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor

A Week of Holiness

Dear Parishioners,

Now that we are well into Lent, internally for St. Anne’s, planning for Holy Week has already begun. Personally, I believe that Holy Week is that series of celebrations that every Catholic should experience each year. If you’ve never attended them, please consider making an effort this time around. Here’s a run down of all the activities.

Palm Sunday: Depending on the Mass, we will be start- ing in the Hall or outside and then process in with our palms to continue our celebration.

Chrism Mass (7 PM, March 29, Portland): This Mass is celebrated at the Cathedral with the Archbishop and almost all the priests serving in the Archdiocese. This is a wonderful time to experience the Church in a larger sense. The Holy Oils are blessed at the Mass and the priests renew their promises from their ordinations. The procession alone is something to behold.

THE TRIDUUM

Holy Thursday (7 PM): This commemorates the
Last Supper Christ had with his disciples. At this Mass we wash the feet of representative members of our parish and focus on the institution of the Eucharist. As such, I’ve ordered special hosts that have images embossed on them and I will be singing most of the Eucharistic Prayer. The oils from the Chrism Mass are pre- sented at the presentation of the gifts and placed in a suitable location. At the end of Mass, the community follows the priest in procession with the Eucharist to the Parish Center where a temporary Altar of Repose has been set up so that the faithful can pray before the Blessed Sacrament. People are welcome to leave when they want until adoration concludes at midnight.

Good Friday (7 PM): This celebration is very simple. It is not a Mass. It begins very solemnly. In addition,
the reading of the Passion narrative is proclaimed. Afterwards, the community comes forward to venerate the cross. Finally communion is distributed, and the service ends.

Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil—8:30 PM): This is the pinnacle of all our celebrations of the entire year. We begin outside with a blessing of a fire (we have a special fire for this year) and the blessing of the Paschal Candle. From there, the community processes in the dark- ened church with their own candles, lighting the church with their very presence. A solemn proclamation is sung called the Exultet. An extended series of readings are proclaimed describing salvation history. Then after a very short homily (and I mean short!), those who are to be baptized come forward. This year we will be offering the most dramatic form of baptism that we can: immersion. The Catechism of the Catholic Church(#1239) considers this to be the “most expressive way” to offer this Sacrament. If you’ve never seen this done, you don’t want to miss it! Next, those who have already been baptized in another faith tradition, pledge their faith in the Church. These people along with all those who have just been baptized receive the sacrament of Con- firmation. The Liturgy of the Eucharist follows with those who were just received into the Church going first. The whole night is full of wonder and joy.

I hope to see you at these celebrations. I am greatly looking forward to them. As with all our most important holy days, I will be doing my best to celebrate them bilingually as a sign and invitation to the major languages present in our community. I pray that your Lenten journey has been full of growth and conversion as well as peace and hope.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor