Holy Week: The great week of our faith

'Friends, you can see that today, I'm dressed up in having just finished the celebration of the Sunday which is the Lord's Passion Sunday, known as Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday, as it is often known as, today.

In fact, I just wanted to very briefly, welcome you in a sense to this great week, Holy Week. Not great in the sense of big and flash, but great in the sense that this is the greatest time in our church year, when we celebrate the Lord's Paschal mystery. Two big words: Paschal and mystery. The mystery is our taking up into the Lord and into the divine life. Paschal comes from the word for Passover. And it's the Lord's sacrifice his passing over in death to eternal life. And we celebrate this great week, where we make that journey with Jesus through his passion, death and resurrection. And in due course leading on to his ascension into Pentecost, but I wanted to just welcome you all for this Paschal mystery.

I want to encourage you as best as possible to take up opportunities to be a part of your local parish celebrations for Holy Week, or here at the Cathedral. And as best as possible I want to really strongly encourage once again the coming back to our churches, they're open again. So please take the opportunity to come and give worship to our God who gives us his life and in worshiping God also being with God's people again.

So, in this great week, this Holy Week, I offer you my blessing and I ask that the Lord may be with each one of you and with your families.'

Archbishop Peter A Comensoli