This weekend, Palm Sunday (March 23-24) and Easter  (March 30-31) we have changed the Mass schedule to help with crowds and parking, and taking longer Masses into account.  

PALM SUNDAY WEEKEND

Saturday March 23:  3:30 Confessions.  5pm Mass

Sunday March 24:  8am, 10am and 12pm

Weather permitting we will begin Palm Sunday Mass outside on Carlton, but today’s weather may call that into question!

EASTER WEEKEND

Saturday March 30:  NO 3:30 Confessions. NO 5pm Mass.  Join us for the Vigil at 9pm

Sunday March 31st:  8am 10am and 12pm

There will be overflow seating for Easter Masses in Vincentian Hall where the Mass will be seen and heard on the 4 televisions and large projector screen, and Communion will be brought down.  

Please consider taking part in the entire Sacred Triduum – it is one Mass that begins on Holy Thursday night and ends with the conclusion of the Easter Vigil.  It’s like a three act play where the drama of the passion and resurrection plays out before our very eyes.  On Good Friday we will take up a collection for the Church in the Holy Land, ravaged by months of violence between the Israelis and Hamas.  Following the Good Friday service we begin Day 1 of the Divine Mercy Novena.  The remaining days are prayed at home.

To help all of us enter into the spirit of this holiest week of the year and to give us a better idea of the suffering Jesus endured at the crucifixion, the traveling Shroud of Turin Exhibit sponsored by the Knights of Columbus will be on display in Vincentian Hall after all Masses this weekend, March 22-23rd.  There will be a presentation after each of the Masses, describing its rich history and authenticity.  Feel free to stop by and take a look even if you don’t stay for the presentation that will begin 15-20 minutes after Mass is over.

For those who may not know, the Shroud of Turin is thought to be the cloth in which the body of Jesus was wrapped when he was taken down from the cross and before he rose from the dead!  

We are making progress:

This is the Queens DSA Report as of March 22

Pledges:  $143,352.75 (65% of Goal:  $220,214)

Distance to Goal:  $76,821.25 

Number of donors:  342 (22% parish participation)

We are behind last year’s pace in gifts and donors, but there is time to change that.  If you made a DSA gift last year but haven’t yet in 2024, please do so today.  If you’ve never made a gift to DSA or you can’t remember the last time you did, a gift of any size would be greatly appreciated.  If you haven’t done much in terms of almsgiving this Lent, a gift to DSA does a lot of good.  You will be supporting 100 programs and ministries that are making the lives in everyday people from all walks of life.  The DSA allows us to work together to build the Kingdom of God by building up the Church on earth.  

DSA pledge cards and initial payments should be sent to the Queens parish office or placed in the collection at Mass.  Please do not send them directly to the Diocese.  Checks should be made payable to ‘Queens/DSA.’

Thank you to the 342 donors representing nearly one-fourth of our registered households who have already made your DSA commitment!  

join us for the last Knights of Columbus Friday Fish Dinners in the Queens School Gym.  The Knights offer dine-in, drive thru and takeout options.  Please note: the fish dinner begins at 4:30pm and ends at 7:00pm. 

Why do we veil images?

The practice of veiling images alerts us that something is different, it can be startling at first, but the last two weeks of Lent are a time of immediate preparation for the celebration of the Sacred Triduum. The veils are hard to miss and they serve as a reminder to get ready!

The veiled images build within us a longing for Easter Sunday. The veils seem out of place, and even counterintuitive. It can seem strange that the crucifix is covered up during Passiontide. Through this absence of images, our senses are heightened and we become more aware of what is missing. Similarly, the suppression of the Alleluia during Lent effectively demonstrates that we are in exile from our true Home, where the angels sing Alleluia without ceasing.

When images are unveiled before the Easter Vigil, we are reminded that we, in a sense, live in a veiled world. It is through our own death that we are able to see our true home, and the veil is lifted. Christ lifts the veil through His Resurrection.

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. John 11:25-26.

-source:  St. John Seminary.  Boston, Massachusetts

https://www.sjs.edu/news/why-do-we-cover-statues-and-images-with-a-veil-during-lent

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching” (Heb 13:8-9).

Fr. Tim MacDonald

Pastor

Queen of the Miraculous Medal Catholic Church

606 S. Wisner St.  Jackson, Michigan 49203

(517) 783-2748  www.queenschurch.com