All Saints Gazette: Passiontide (March 20)
Greetings from All Saints!
The fifth Sunday of Lent marks the beginning of what is called Passiontide. Practices vary around the world. In many Catholic and Anglican churches with more traditional worship spaces than ours, certain symbols are covered until Easter (at the end of the reading in some older calendars, there is a reference to Jesus hiding and no longer appearing in public until his final Passover, with the proclamation he made in what we read on Sunday).
Since we are not yet able to have Holy Week services, we can reflect on the ways in which Jesus is present to us not just in the visible proclamation and worship of the church, but also in secret, in hiding, in the ways he doesn't show up as expected--but does as not expected! Our next service is Easter Sunday at 5:30 in the evening at Vrijburg. And while you're making notes of your afspraken, be sure you also have the bishop's visitation on June 2 noted and plan to be there.
No Bible study this week
As was announced in the addendum last week, we won't be having Bible study today. See you next week!
Abundance Inventory
On Tuesday we commemorated St. Joseph. Maybe the original non-traditional family of our Christian faith is that of Jesus. Mary was an unmarried mother. The man Jesus grew up knowing as “father” was not related to him biologically. And yet, here they are, the Holy family. A family created by love to bear witness to love. Blood is “thicker than water”, as the old saying attests but if so then love is sometimes thicker than blood. Who are the people with special calls upon your heart? Who do you name when you say “family”,whether those bonds are confirmed by love or blood or both? Who has epitomised for you what a father’s love can be? How have you been able to embody the love of a parent to another? This week thank God for the blessing of family, however that is constructed.
Almighty God, our heavenly Mother and Father, Parent of us all, who places solitary persons in families: We commend to your continual care the homes in which your people dwell. Put far from them, we beseech you, every root of bitterness, the desire of vainglory, and the pride of life. Fill them with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, and godliness. Knit together in constant affection those who, in marriage, have been made one flesh. Turn the hearts of the parents to the children, and the hearts of the children to the parents; and so enkindle fervent charity among us all, that we may evermore be kindly one to another; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Roving Priest
I (Kyle) have an afspraak in the immigration office in The Hague tomorrow, so I will be taking the train the other way. But for those of you who live in South Holland or feel like a trip, I plan to go for a walk in the Haagse Bos aftward, around 10:00. Send me an email or text message if you'd like to join me!
That's all for today!
Want to talk to a priest? We want to talk to you too!
Website: https://allsaintsamsterdam.church/
Mpho: mpho@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Kyle: kyle@allsaintsamsterdam.church
General: info@allsaintsamsterdam.church
