Bispo do Algarve sends a message of an Easter that cannot be celebrated «as we would like»

Masses and celebrations broadcast on Folha do Domingo's Youtube channel

D. Manuel Neto Quintas, Bishop of the Algarve – Photo: Samuel Mendonça | Sunday sheet

The Bishop of the Algarve sent an Easter message to all the Catholic communities in the Algarve, in which he gives indications on how to live Holy Week, in order to "feed and strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and ecclesial communion that unite us", although he stresses D. Manuel Neto Quintas, let us be «deprived of celebrating, as we would like, these days».

The Algarvian prelate stresses that it is mandatory to follow the “norms of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, approved by mandate of the Supreme Pontiff, as well as of the Episcopal Conference, published in due course”, in addition to “what has been determined by the authorities civil and health'.

«The effects caused by Covid-19, the “state of emergency” in which we find ourselves and the consequent social and civic responsibility of all, force us to celebrate the paschal mystery, the essential nucleus of our faith, in a “different way”, how different the experience of this Lenten season has already been,” he explains.

He asks the parish priests "to inform their parishioners about the timetable for the celebrations, so that they can join in prayer in their own homes or, where possible, participate live through social networks", as he says, " fortunately, it has been happening among us in these last few weeks».

In this message of yours, entitled “Do not be afraid! He is risen!”, D. Manuel Neto Quintas urges the Algarve's Christians to live Easter, letting themselves be “contaminated by the joy that flooded the hearts of those who experienced and witnessed the presence of the risen Christ” and not to be afraid, as was told to the apostles who ran to the tomb of Jesus.

"Do not be afraid, it is a greeting and proclamation of faith, which the celebration of Easter, in a time of deep disturbance, invites us to profess and share," he says.

Remembering the message of Pope Francis, given on March 27, before the blessing Urbi et orbi (to the city of Rome and to the world), stresses that “the image of the Pope, alone, although accompanied by an innumerable crowd scattered throughout the world, gave us the dimension of the “desert” that the fight against this virus in us. obliges you to cross. A desert that, more than the emptiness caused by the absence of others and the “daily agitation”, is the presence of silence and fruitful love” and which in this time of adversity comes out stronger the “blessed common belonging from which we cannot escape: we are brothers , we need each other and we go together in the same boat. It is important to be united and row in the same direction».

Thus, everyone will be able to follow the Easter celebrations (broadcast in a joint initiative of the Sunday sheet newspaper and the digital platform Mais Algarve), or in multiple digital platforms of both bodies, whether in the channels of the Diocese of Algarve:

The Bishop of the Algarve also indicated that on Easter Sunday, at 12:00 noon, “the bells in all the Churches of the Diocese should be rung festively, as a sign of the proclamation of Christ's victory over death and of hope for all, particularly those who live in times of great suffering, as well as of communion between all communities and people in the Diocese of the Algarve».

 

 

The times are as follows:

PALM SUNDAY
April 5 - 11:00 pm

HOLY THURSDAY
Lord's Supper Mass
April 9 - 17:00 pm

GOOD FRIDAY
Celebration of the Passion of the Lord
April 10 - 15:00 pm

HOLY SATURDAY
Easter Vigil
April 11 - 21:00 pm

EASTER SUNDAY
Easter Mass of the Lord
April 12 - 11:00 pm

 

 




 

 

Easter Message from the Bishop of the Algarve

 

"Do not be afraid! He is risen!

Celebrating Easter is letting yourself be infected by the joy that flooded the hearts of those who experienced and witnessed the presence of the risen Christ, on that first day of the week, when the women, startled and frightened, when they found that the stone of the tomb was removed, listened from the angel the announcement of the resurrection: “Do not be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, the Crucified. He's not here, because he's risen as he said. Go quickly and tell his disciples: He has risen from the dead!” (Mt 28, 5-6: Easter Vigil).

It is this joyful news, welcomed by the women and taken without delay to the apostles and then personally confirmed by Peter and John, news that will pass by word of mouth, from generation to generation, and which each Easter celebrates and updates, arriving also to us with the same newness and intensity.

Do not be afraid, it is a greeting and proclamation of faith, which the celebration of Easter, in a time of profound disturbance, invites us to profess and share.

The effects caused by Covid-19, the “state of emergency” in which we find ourselves and the consequent social and civic responsibility of all, force us to celebrate the paschal mystery, the essential nucleus of our faith, in a “different way”, as The experience of this Lenten season has been different.

1. A “different” Lent
Certainly our personal choices, as a way of responding to the Lenten call to conversion, did not include what we are living, namely:

– the bitter personal or family experience of this virus infection, including the hospitalization and death of loved ones, suffering aggravated by the impossibility of a worthy “last farewell”;

– the “heroic fast” of the human and social relationship, even family, that this situation demands, forcing us to remain “at home”;

– the “fasting of the ecclesial community”, of the Word shared in the Sunday Assembly, of the festive and shared Eucharist, of penitential celebrations, Lenten processions, Holy Week celebrations, the Easter Triduum…

– the confrontation with human frailty and the temporary nature of our personal and family projects;

– questioning the criteria and values ​​that guide and support our life, inspire our options, determine our priorities, in relation to who we are, the way we live and what we do.

On this, and everything else, we are invited to cast the “eye of faith” and, in the light of the Spirit's discernment, to find the imperatives that this situation suggests to us.

In this regard, the image and message of Pope Francis, before the blessing, help us Urbi et orbi (to the city of Rome and to the world), which we welcomed into our homes last Friday. The image of the Pope, alone, although accompanied by an uncountable crowd scattered throughout the world, gave us the dimension of the “desert” that the fight against this virus forces us to cross. A desert that, more than the emptiness caused by the absence of others and the “daily agitation”, is the presence of silence and fruitful love. It is in the desert that God “speaks to the hearts of his people” and invites them to rethink the truth and quality of the worship he renders to them, and fidelity to the covenant celebrated on Mount Sinai.

In his message, Pope Francis leads us, in the face of the storm that is befalling humanity, to realize our “vulnerability” and the “false and superfluous safeguards” on which our projects, habits and priorities are based; the tendency to refer to oblivion and the expendable, “that which nourishes, sustains and gives strength to our life and our community”; the attempts to anesthetize us with apparently “saving” habits, incapable of appealing to our roots and evoking the memory of those who preceded us, thus depriving us of the immunity necessary to face adversity”; of lost makeup, uncovering the stereotypes with which we mask our "I", always concerned with our own image and revealing, once again, the blessed common belonging from which we cannot escape: we are brothers, we need each other and we follow together on the same boat. It is important to be united and row in the same direction.

In this storm that we are going through, it is also the Lord who shakes us and awakens us from the numbness that busy life leads us to, and invites us “to activate solidarity and hope, capable of giving solidity, support and meaning to these hours in that everything seems to sink”.

It is the Lord who awakens us to revive our paschal faith, supported by his cross, an anchor that saves us, a rudder that guides us to a safe haven, an embrace that heals us, so that nothing and no one separates us from his redeeming love .

2. Holy Week
With the aim of helping everyone to live Holy Week, even with the limitations to which we are subject, I present you with some indications for each day, so that we can nourish and strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and ecclesial communion that we share. they unite, even if deprived of celebrating, as we would like, these days.

The celebration of the Easter of the Lord's Resurrection, the true heart of the liturgical year, cannot be transferred. As such, we will follow the norms of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, approved by mandate of the Supreme Pontiff, as well as of the Episcopal Conference, which will be published in due course.

We will also bear in mind the fulfillment of what was determined by the civil and health authorities.

Pastors are asked to inform their parishioners about the timing of the celebrations, so that they can join in prayer in their own homes or, where possible, participate live through social media, which, fortunately, is already coming. happening between us these past few weeks.

a) Palm Sunday in the Passion of the Lord
The celebration of Palm Sunday introduces us to Holy Week, the most important week in the liturgical calendar for the mysteries we celebrate there.

The commemoration of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, with the blessing of the branches and the proclamation of the Gospel (Mt 21,1:11-XNUMX), followed by the procession, must be celebrated inside the temple; in cathedral churches adopt the second form provided for by the Roman Missal, in parish churches and other places, the third: nour Cathedral this celebration will be at 11:00 am, broadcast on social networks.

It has been customary to celebrate World Youth Day on Palm Sunday, which has been postponed between us for October 2,3, 4 and XNUMX. It is a day lived with particular emphasis by our young people. In fact, on this day, an expressive group should be in Rome, with many other young people from Portugal accompanying the young people of Lisbon, who would receive from the hands of Pope Francis the symbols of the World Youth Day: the cross and the Marian icon. This celebration and delivery was postponed to the Solemnity of Christ the King.

In this message of mine to the entire diocese, I want to leave a word addressed to our young people, inspired by the evangelical motto chosen by Pope Francis for this year's celebration – young man, I tell you, get up! (cf. Lk 7, 14). This order of Jesus, addressed to a deceased young man, who he was taking to be buried, clearly illuminates the reality that, dear young people, we are living. I believe that it is not being easy for you to “stay at home” with your families, and that the feeling of tiredness and prostration hits you in a particular way. Also to you, dear young man, above all “if you have lost your inner vigor, your dreams, your enthusiasm, your hope and your generosity, (…) the Lord, with all his power as the Risen One, says to you: “young man, I command you: Arise!” (CV 20)

To get up, Pope Francis continues, means “dreaming”, “taking a risk”, “making the effort to change the world”, falling in love with what is beautiful and worthwhile. And when "a young man falls in love with anything, or rather with Someone, he gets up and begins to do great things, and can even become his witness and act for Him."

b) paschal triduum
The Easter Triduum includes what we celebrate on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the solemn Easter Vigil: we relive the mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. These are favorable days to awaken in us a more intense desire to unite ourselves with Christ and to follow him, aware that he loved us until he gave his life for us. The events that the Holy Triduum celebrates are the sublime manifestation of God's love for humanity, manifested in Christ.

The Triduum starts on Maundy Thursday, with the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. Although in the morning it is customary to celebrate the Chrism Mass, this year it has been postponed due to the impossibility, at this time, for all the clergy of the Diocese to participate in it, as usual. Until that day, we will continue to use the same oils for the celebration of the respective sacraments.

On this day we commemorate the institution of the Priesthood and the total surrender that Christ made of himself to humanity in the sacrament of the Eucharist. On the same night that he was betrayed, Jesus left us the new commandment of fraternal love, present in the surprising gesture of washing the feet. The celebration of this day continues with a time of Eucharistic adoration, which recalls the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. For Jesus, this was the hour of abandonment and solitude, followed by imprisonment and the beginning of the painful journey to Calvary. Also today He tells us, stay here and watch with me.

Try to find a time of prayerful silence and union with Christ, in the mysteries that we as Church celebrate on this day. In this time of suffering and turmoil that affects a large part of humanity, we are invited to illuminate with the suffering of Christ the suffering of those who are reliving his passion today.

On this day, on an exceptional basis, all priests are granted the power to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper, without the help of the people, in a suitable place. The washing of the feet, already optional, is omitted, as well as the procession, at the end of the Mass of the Lord's Supper, keeping the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle.

Priests who are unable to celebrate Mass will pray Vespers instead (cf. Liturgy of the Hours)
In our Cathedral, the celebration of the Lord's Supper will be at 17 pm, broadcast on social media.

 




 

A Good friday celebrates the Passion of the Lord. It is a day of fasting and penance, when everything invites contemplation of the Cross. She reveals to us the length, breadth, height and depth of a love that surpasses all knowledge and fills us with the fullness of God (cf Eph 3:18-19). In the mystery of the Crucified, God's turning against Himself is fulfilled, with which He gives Himself to raise up man and save him – love in its most radical form. From the gaze fixed on the pierced side of Christ, to which St. John alludes (cf. 19:37), the Christian finds the path of his living and loving (cf. Benedict XVI, DCE, 12).

In the celebration of the Passion of the Lord, the act of adoration of the Cross with the kiss is limited to the celebrant alone. The others express their veneration with a gesture of deep reverence.

In Universal Prayer, in accordance with the provisions of the Roman Missal (p. 253, n. 12), a special intention is added, in this time of pandemic, for those in danger, the sick, the deceased and those who suffered some loss.
In our Cathedral, the celebration of the Passion of the Lord will be at 17 pm, broadcast on social media.

O Holy Saturday is day of silence: the Church watches, contemplative, at the tomb, united with Mary, meditating on the mystery celebrated yesterday and letting herself be illuminated by the light that springs from the glorious cross of Christ. Cross that remains enthroned… illuminating and nourishing the prayer of those who await, in faith and hope, the hour of resurrection.

In the evening, the Solemn Easter Vigil will be celebrated, in which the Church will sing the joyful song of the Paschal Glory and Alleluia, as an expression of faith, joy and happiness, because Christ is risen and conquered death.

For the “Beginning of the Vigil or Lucernary”, the fire is omitted, the candle is lit and, omitting the procession, the paschal preconium is sung. The “Liturgy of the Word” follows. For the “Baptismal Liturgy”, only the baptismal promises are renewed (cf. Missal Romano, p. 320, n. 46). The “Eucharistic Liturgy” follows.

Priests who cannot in any way join in the Easter Vigil celebrated in the church pray the Office of Readings indicated for Easter Sunday (cf. Liturgy of the Hours).

In our Cathedral, the celebration of the Easter Vigil will begin at 21 pm, with transmission on social media. At the Easter Sunday the Eucharist will be at 11:00 am, also broadcast on social networks.

On Easter Sunday, at 12:00, the bells are festively toll in all the Churches of the Diocese, as a sign of the proclamation of Christ's victory over death and of hope for everyone, particularly those living in times of great suffering, as well as of communion between all communities and people in the Diocese of Algarve.

Dear brothers and sisters,
May the Risen Christ invigorate our faith, strengthen our hope and make us grow in love, translated into fraternal and supportive gestures, namely in the fulfillment of what is asked of us to prevent personal and other contagion.

Let us entrust ourselves and our Diocesan Church and all the people of the Algarve, particularly those infected with this virus, to the protection of our patron Saint Vincent and to the protection of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Mercy and our Sovereign Mother.

Always count on my prayer and my solicitude as your brother and pastor. To all I invoke the blessing and peace of God our Father.

+ Manuel Quintas, Bishop of the Algarve»

Comments

Ads