Welcome to one of our most important weeks in our Liturgical Calendar of the church - HOLY WEEK. Your child has been reflecting on Jesus' journey into Jersualem on Palm Sunday and this week will spend time praying and delving further into Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Saturday and Sunday.

This week brings us to the end of Term 1 - and what another big term it has been in many ways for many of us. We thank you for your patience and kindness as we all navigate our way through these uncertain days. We hope to be able to put a few more dates in for Term 2. These will include 'THREE WAY CONFERENCES' with your child, a return to Friday mass for our senior hubs, Whanau/Family Well Being hui with other Catholic schools and celebrating Matrariki with you all as we did last year.

I'd like to take this time to thank our children/tamariki for their outstanding attitude to learning and living the Mercy way this term - it has certainly been a slightly different. Thank you also to the staff who have been flexible in their teaching and the changes that arise nearly everyday and to our school and parish community for your prayers, understanding and support. What a wonderful school community we have!!!!

We wish you all a very blessed and healthy Easter and Term 1 break. We look forward to seeing you all again In Term 2 on MONDAY MAY 2nd.

Blessings to you all

OLOL Team

The Paschal Triduum

The Triduum is the high point of the Church’s Year.

The Sacred Paschal Triduum is one liturgy in which the Church celebrates the greatest mysteries of our redemption.

The one liturgy is spread over three days.

It begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.

It is followed on Friday by the celebration of the Passion of the Lord.

This is followed on Sunday morning by the Paschal Vigil.

The Paschal Vigil takes place during the night. It is the vigil of waiting upon the Lord, so it is not just another, longer Mass on a Saturday night.

The Paschal Vigil takes us back to the Exodus experience of the Hebrew People and back to the central stories of our faith in the one God- the God who saves us!

Waiting in the night and listening to the scriptures gives us the anchor for the rest of the Church’s year.

The Triduum closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.

Holy Week and Easter 2022 Special Collections

Holy Thursday donations for St Vincent de Paul food bank.

In the spirit of Holy Thursday please bring non-perishable items to Mass so that we may share what we have with the hungry.

Please place these items in the food bank baskets in the foyer.

Good Friday “Holy Places” (Peter’s Pence)

Special collection for the care and upkeep of various Holy Places in Jerusalem and those who care for them

The Easter Dues

This goes to the Clergy Trust Fund for the clergy who serves us.

Holy Thursday Masses

Foxton 5.30 pm, Lourdes 7 pm, Cathedral 7 pm

Good Friday

Service of the Word with Communion 3 pm in each church.

Paschal Vigil

There is one Vigil for our parishes of Foxton, Lourdes, and the Cathedral

Paschal Vigil, 5 am at the Cathedral, Easter Sunday morning (April 17th)

Reconciliation during Holy Week:

Extra times for Rite one is being held during Holy Week.

We are not celebrating Rite Two this year because of Covid restrictions.

We have an exciting opportunity for a part-time Pastoral Assistant who will work within the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit based in Palmerston North.

The Pastoral Assistant is a paid position of 25 hours which are flexible over a 7-day period. You will be a member of the Pastoral Team of Kotahi Ano and sometimes be required to assist within the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.

The role is for an active, can-do, friendly, and approachable person to assist the Pastoral Coordinator in delivering Pastoral Care to the Cathedral Parish.

Experience in a parish ministry role or experience in community pastoral care is preferred. Familiarity with Catholic liturgical teaching, Catholic social teaching and Pastoral Ministry is necessary whilst a formal qualification in Pastoral Theology or another discipline focused on care is preferred but not compulsory. The role will involve an understanding and respect for the values of the Roman Catholic Church.

If you are an outgoing, people person, a good communicator with excellent administration skills and experience in; Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, Powerpoint), database systems (e.g. Infoodle) and preferably Microsoft Teams, please apply by emailing your cover letter and C.V. to

Donna Brown, Pastoral Coordinator; pastoral@pncathedral.org.nz by Friday 29 April 2022.

You will need a current Drivers Licence and own transport. If you require a more detailed job description or have any other queries, please email Donna Brown; pastoral@pncathedral.org.nz.

TERM ONE DATES

• Thursday April 14th - HOLY THURSDAY
• THURSDAY APRIL 14th - LAST DAY OF TERM ONE
• Friday April 15th - Good Friday - SCHOOL CLOSED FOR THE TERM BREAK

TERM TWO DATES

• Monday May 2 - FIRST DAY OF TERM TWO
• Thursday June 2 - SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY - MONRAD PARK - TBC
• Friday June 3 - TEACHER ONLY DAY - SCHOOL CLOSED
• Monday June 6 - QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY - SCHOOL CLOSED
• FRIDAY June 24 - MATARIKI Public Holiday - SCHOOL CLOSED
• WEDNESDAY June 29 - SCHOOL CONFERENCES (1-6pm) - school closes at 12.30pm, please make arrangements for your child.
• THURSDAY June 30 - SCHOOL CONFERENCES (3.30-6pm)
• FRIDAY JULY 8 - LAST DAY OF TERM 2

Term 2 - Monday 2nd May - Friday 8th July

Term 3 - Monday 25th July - Friday 30th September

Term 4 - Monday 17th October - 14th December (to be confirmed)