Holy Week

Next week, we will enter Holy Week with Palm Sunday. At all the Masses at Oakhurst and North Fork, we will have the traditional Procession of Palms into the church. The palms this year are directly from a small village in Africa, where the local people cut these palms and make the crosses as a means of making a living. This is our small way of being connected to the larger Church, particularly in the light of the recent trip of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI to Africa. Another benefit is with regular palms, people spend the time during the proclamation of the Gospel making the crosses instead of listening.

Holy Week should be that, a HOLY WEEK. A time to pray, to reflect, to maybe attend Masses each day of the three days Masses are offered. I invite everyone to take this opportunity to plan to slow down one's schedule and plan accordingly.

This coming Tuesday evening, March 31, the parish will celebrate our annual Lenten Penance Service. The service will begin at 6:00PM. We at this time have four priests coming to assist us with individual confessions. They include Fathers Bulfer, Cardoza, Rude, SJ, and Msgr. Logan. Please plan on coming this Tuesday and invite others as well.

On Thursday, April 2nd, the Diocese of Fresno will celebrate the annual Chrism Mass at 2;00pm at Holy Spirit Church in Fresno. At this time, Bishop Steinbock will bless the new oils, (Oil for the Sick, Oil for the Catechumens, and the Sacred Chrism). Also at this special Mass, all the priests, deacons, Religious Men and Women, and the Bishop himself pledge to commit another year of service to the People of God. Every parish is invited to send people to bring back the oils to their respective parishes. All are invited to attend the Chrism Mass.

We welcome the young men and women of the Visalia Catholic Churches that will be making a Day of Recollection in our parish church in Oakhurst and Bass Lake. 50 young people will be preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation, and will be here on Monday, April 6, all day.

Again, you will find the Holy Week and Easter schedule in the bulletin. Please share it with others in our community who might be interesting in attending.