Last night we attended the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at my parish. I have come to really appreciate high feasts and solemnities in my parish these past few years because we now have a Spanish apostolate. The apostolate ministers to Spanish-speaking immigrants who live mainly in the Point neighborhood of Salem. The vast majority of them have come from the Dominican Republic. The community used to worship at St. Joseph’s parish, but when it closed they moved to Immaculate Conception.
On Sundays, there is a separate Spanish Mass, and they also have separate Spanish-language religious education. But on the important feasts of the year we have bilingual liturgies. So last night we had the first reading and the Gospel in Spanish while the second reading was in English. We have bilingual missalettes for those who speak one or the other language. And we have two homilies, one in English and one in Spanish. There is also music from both the English-language choir and the Spanish-language musicians. It’s a nice opportunity to experience something of the universality of the Church and how it crosses national and cultural boundaries. It’s also nice to see the church packed full for a change.
I expect the Good Friday Stations of the Cross and Lord’s Passion to be very well-represented from both Spanish and English speakers, but less the Easter Vigil. Apparently, most of the Spanish community prefer the Easter Sunday Mass.
Technorati Tags: Catholic, Holy Thursday, Holy Week, Spanish
