At the end of the 9.30 Mass on Shrove Tuesday we shall sing this eleventh century hymn to observe the old custom of “Burying the Alleluia” until Easter.
Alleluia, song of sweetness,
voice of joy that cannot die;
alleluia is the anthem
ever raised by choirs on high;
in the house of God abiding
thus they sing eternally.
Alleluia thou resoundest,
true Jerusalem and free;
alleluia, joyful mother,
all thy children sing with thee;
but by Babylon's sad waters
mourning exiles now are we.
Alleluia cannot always
be our song while here below;
alleluia our transgressions
make us for awhile forgo;
for the solemn time is coming
when our tears for sin must flow.
Therefore in our hymns we pray thee,
grant us, blessed Trinity,
at the last to keep thine Easter,
in our home beyond the sky,
there to thee for ever singing
alleluia joyfully.
Thus the Alleluia is sung for the last time and not heard again until it suddenly bursts into glory during the Mass of the Easter Vigil when the celebrant intones this sacred word after the Epistle, repeating it three times, as a jubilant herald of the Resurrection of Christ.
On Shrove Tuesday evening we have our monthly Holy Hour for Vocations starting at 6.15pm. Feel free to come when you can and leave when your must any time between 6.15 and 7.15.
After the Holy Hour, we shall have pancakes in the presbytery to celebrate Mardi Gras and Fr Colin's ordination anniversary.
We start Lent on Ash Wednesday, 1st March. Ashes will be blessed and distributed at all Masses:
9.00am: Our Lady of Lourdes, Ashby
10.30am: St Charles Borromeo, Measham (our school will be joining us for this Mass)
7.00pm: Our Lady of Lourdes, Ashby
