Dear People of God,

On last Saturday at our St Boniface Church, we had a wonderful Lourdes virtual pilgrimage Event. 29 people from parishes participated in this virtual pilgrimage. Thanks to Waumandee Pastoral and Financial Council members for their initiation. I also appreciate Laverne Pronschinske for arranging all the stuffs needed for this event.

This year, the Easter Triduum will be held at immaculate conception in Fountain City. Our Diocese of La Crosse gives parishes permission to accommodate 50% of its church’s capacity for Masses, following social- distancing. We can’t accommodate 50% of capacity in our Churches with social-distancing but member from same family can sit together.

The schedule is as follows;

• Holy Thursday – 6:00pm (No washing of feet and long Eucharistic Adoration)
• Good Friday service – 1:00pm. Veneration of the Cross by bowing or genuflecting (no kissing or touching of the cross). The church will remain open until 4:30pm for private prayer).
• Holy Saturday Vigil – 8:30pm. If you would like to be a reader or Eucharistic Minister for vigil Mass, please call Deb Kujak at 608-484-0641.
• Easter Sunday – 8:00am St. Lawrence, Alma.
• Easter Sunday – 10:00am St. Boniface, Waumandee. You are most welcome.

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday — the beginning of our Holy Week. Our liturgy starts with the account of Jesus humbly entering Jerusalem riding a donkey. People put cloaks and palm branches in His pathway crying, “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” It is with great joy that Christ was being honored as king, still in the same breath, we are filled with sorrow as we reflect on Christ’s passion and death. Thankfully, we know the glorious outcome of this painful journey.
Today we are not simply reenacting an historical event that happened long ago. Instead, we welcome Jesus Christ HERE and NOW—after all, He is more ALIVE than any of us. What do the crowds tell us today?

First, there is the crowd that travels with Him to the gates of Jerusalem. They sing “HOSANNA” which means “SAVE US NOW! and line the road before Jesus with garments and palms. We NEED a Savior, but we must ask ourselves: do we WELCOME the Savior? Are we willing to throw onto the ground before Him the pride, the resentment, the greed, the lust that we hold so closely to ourselves?

In His humility, in His going to the Cross, God shakes us to our very foundations. Let us not be afraid or ashamed—God shakes us in order to FREE us from what enslaves us. This is true humility—not to think of how “bad” we are, but to acknowledge who we are BEFORE Almighty God.

Let us welcome Jesus into our hearts and let us ENTER into this Holy Week with true humility and trust. Let us enter into the New Jerusalem with Christ our King.Have a happy and fruitful Holy Week!!

Yours In Christ Jesus,
Fr. Doss

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