Easter Flower Fund Intentions
To remember that special someone, contributions to our Easter Flower Fund may be made by using the special envelope included in your contribution envelope packet (or a plain envelope). Donations must be received by Monday, April 8, to be printed in the bulletin. Be sure to PRINT the names of those you wish memorialize and indicate whether your contribution is “in memory of” (deceased) or “in honor of” (living). Online givers should enter the names in the “Other Comments” section of their ParishSoft Giving donation page. These donations not only help provide our beautiful Easter environment but also assist with church environment expenses throughout the year. 

We are invited to participate with our whole being: mind, heart, and body. During Holy Week, Christians commemorate the Passion of Christ, Who died on Good Friday in reparation for the sins of mankind, and rose on Easter Sunday to give new life to all who believe. Thus, while Holy Week is solemn and sorrowful, it also anticipates the joy of Easter through the recognition of God's goodness in sending His Son to die for our salvation.

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, April 14
 The Commemoration of the
Lord's Entrance into Jerusalem

Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entrance of Christ into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-9), when palm branches were placed in His path, before His arrest on Holy Thursday and His Crucifixion on Good Friday. Masses will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and 8:30 and 11:15 a.m. on Sunday.
 

Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast ~ April 14
Don't miss the Annual Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast featuring “All You Can Eat” buttermilk pancakes in Hughes Hall, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This delicious meal is served with homemade toppings and/or syrup, sausage patty, oj, coffee, tea, or milk. Great family prices, theme basket raffles, and children's attendance drawings are all a part of the fun. The Women's Auxiliary of the Mantua Knights of Columbus Council #3766 will be hosting this year's event.

Appalachian Experience Bake Sale
Lots of baked goods will be available in the school hallway on Sunday, April 14, during the Pancake Breakfast. Be sure to pick up something delicious to support this group that participates in the Housing Repair Program in Appalachia each year.

Tuesday, April 16 ~ 8:00 a.m. Mass

10:30 a.m. Chrism Mass at
St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown
Priests (and interested parishioners) gather at the Cathedral to celebrate the Chrism Mass. This Mass manifests the unity of the priests with their bishop. Here the bishop blesses three oils — the oil of catechumens (oleum catechumenorum or oleum sanctorum), the oil of the infirm (oleum infirmorum) and holy chrism (sacrum chrisma) — which will be used in the administration of the sacraments throughout the diocese for the year.

Wednesday, April 17 ~ 8:00 a.m. Mass

Holy Week Triduum (trid-yoo-um, meaning 3 days)
Christ redeemed us all and gave perfect glory to God principally through his paschal mystery: dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life. Therefore, the Easter Triduum of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire liturgical year. These are not three separate liturgical celebrations but one which takes three days to celebrate. Thus, the solemnity of Easter has the same kind of preeminence in the liturgical year that Sunday has in the week. The Easter Triduum begins with the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday.
 

Mass of the Lord's Supper
Holy Thursday, April 18
The Mass of the Lord's Supper features the distinctive action of the Washing of the Feet, just as the Lord did for his disciples and we do for one another.

Spring flowers are needed for the Altar of Repose on Holy Thursday. You are invited to bring spring flowers from your garden, potted plants, or purchased flowers in vases when you come to Mass on Holy Thursday evening. Please place them around the designated area in the All-Purpose Room before Mass. This is where the Blessed Sacrament will be reserved until the Easter Vigil. Thank you!

Mass of the Lord's Supper 7:00 p.m.
(Operation Rice Bowl Collection)
Private Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 8:00-11:00 p.m.
Solemn Night Prayer 11:00 p.m.

Friday Passion of the Lord
Good Friday, April 19, 2019

It is the longest, the most grim, and the starkest day of the Triduum. On this day, we confront the truth that the impassible God suffered, that the ever-living God died. We confront the dark fact that He did so for our sins.

Church Open for Prayer 12:00-3:00 p.m.
Stations of the Cross at 3:00 p.m.
Celebration of the Lord's Passion at 7:00 p.m. with
Liturgy of the Word, Adoration of the Cross,
Petitions, Scriptures & Communion Service
(Holy Land Collection)

Holy Saturday, April 20
On this day, the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, and meditates on his passion and death,
and descent to the dead. With prayer and fasting we await His glorious Easter resurrection.

Noon Blessing of the Food
Followed by Parish Easter Egg Hunt
8:00 p.m. Easter Vigil Mass
Followed by Reception for the Newly Initiated

Blessing of Easter Food
Several ethnic groups have kept alive the tradition of blessing food on Holy Saturday. The staples for the Easter Sunday meal (or, in some cultures, the Saturday vigil meal) - bread, wine, the colored eggs, the ham - are all placed in a basket and brought to the church to be bless. Everyone is invited to place your food items in a basket and gather in the church at noon for the Blessing of Food on Holy Saturday.
 

Easter Egg Hunt
St. Joseph Parish will be holding an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 20, at 12:15 p.m. beginning in the church parking lot. The hunt is open to all children ages 2-9. 
Donations Needed—We are asking for donations from the PSR kids from grades PreK–3 for donations of Easter items – candy, small toys, and stuff animals (especially bunnies!) for the Easter Egg Hunt. Please bring your donations to PSR or drop them off at the Parish Office.

Easter Vigil
The high point of the liturgical year! This moving liturgy consists of The Service of Light, Liturgy of the Word, Baptism of new Christians and renewal of Baptismal vows, and the Eucharist takes place after nightfall on Holy Saturday. The third and consummating rite of the RCIA process, the Sacraments of Initiation, also takes place at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. The Elect culminate their long journey to initiation in the waters of Baptism -- then, with the candidates, the newly baptized are sealed with the oil of Confirmation and share the bread and wine of the Eucharist as full members of the Roman Catholic community.

Resurrection of the Lord
Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019
8:30 and 11:15 a.m. Masses

Easter Sunday is a day all about seeking. The early Christian communities gathered around the Apostles, seeking more about the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. Saint Paul told the baptized Colossians to "seek what is above." Mary of Magdala went to the tomb, seeking to find the Lord's body so that she could anoint it. We come to church on Easter Sunday, seeking many things. For some of us, this is a once-a-year journey, when we seek connection with the foundations of the Christian faith. For others, this day is the culmination of a long journey of Lenten repentance. For the newly baptized, this is the first day of a new life filled with promise and expectation. Whatever it is that we seek, let us be inspired by the disciple whom Jesus loved who, when he saw the wrappings of cloth inside the empty tomb, "saw and believed."     ©Copyright, J.S. Paluch Co.

House Blessing for Easter
As we continue this great Easter Season of joy and celebration, new life is all around us. Our world and lives are coming alive to Spring and so is our faith as we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord and the gift of eternal life! Below is an Easter blessing for your home. During the Easter Season you are welcomed to take some holy water from the Baptismal font home and bless your home with the Easter Home and Family Blessing Prayer. Small containers are available near the Baptismal font. Gather your family in each room and offer the following prayer of thanksgiving to God for your family and home. Move from room to room sprinkling the holy water in each room.