Lynnfield Catholic Collaborative Celebrates Holy Week and Easter

A release from the Lynnfield Catholic Collaborative:

LYNNFIELD, Ma. - To Christians, Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, is observed with special solemnity as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ.

On Holy Thursday, Father Tony Luongo followed the example of Jesus at the Last Supper and washed the feet of Nancy Anderson

At Good Friday's Passion of the Lord, the church was stripped of all ornamentation - no flowers, candles, or altar linens - to draw the focus on the cross. Through the practice of venerating the cross by offering a gesture of respect such as kneeling, touching, or kissing it, the faithful not only paid the highest honor to the Lord's cross as their instrument of salvation, they also brought before it the crosses that they themselves bear in life.

The Easter Vigil held on Holy Saturday is the most solemn Mass of the year, ushering in the Easter season and focusing on the joy of the light of Christ. In a darkened church, the large Paschal Candle was lit and as it was carried through the nave of the church, small candles held by those present were lit from that single flame, symbolizing that Christ's light extinguishes darkness.