“The cross of Jesus has always attracted me in a very mysterious, yet spiritual way,” Bishop Edward Malesic said in his Palm Sunday homily at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. He said seeing Jesus, an innocent man, punished so cruelly and condemned to death is emotionally moving to him and many others.
“That is why I walk the way of the Stations of the Cross each Lent,” the bishop explained. It’s something he’s done nearly every Lent since he was a young man.
We have a spiritual need to retell the story of Jesus’ suffering and death, as found in the Gospel," he said.
(See above for a photo gallery compiled during the Palm Sunday Masses celebrated by Bishop Edward Malesic and Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost.)
The bishop questioned why the cross and Christ’s passion on it are so magnetic for so many people.
“Jesus once said, ‘And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.’ Well, lifted high on the cross, Jesus has drawn us to him. In fact, we sit at the feet of the cross, like Mary and his beloved disciples did,” Bishop Malesic said.
“We are drawn to this cross not simply because it is the symbol of the world’s hatred, which it is, but we are drawn to Christ because, even more, it is a symbol of God’s love for us, despite our sins,” he added. In his homily at the cathedral during an earlier Mass on Palm Sunday, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost said we heard “the whole story and we think we know how it ends..” He said it would be easy to skip the important liturgies during Holy Week and to jump right into Easter “because we think we know the story and how it ends. But we don’t because we’re a part of the story.”
Bishop Woost said we need to let the story continue because we don’t know our part in it.
“Do not let these days (Holy Week) pass by,” he added, mentioning the solemn liturgies of Holy Week, beginning with the diocesan chrism Mass April 15. At this Mass, the sacred oils used sacramentally for this year will be blessed and distributed. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil, complete Holy Week.
He called the cross on Good Friday “the tree of life. We approach it with our woundedness and concerns and lay it all at the foot of the cross, asking Christ for his mercy,” the bishop said. Then, after the sorrow of Good Friday, he said we wait on Holy Saturday in anticipation, “silently trusting that Jesus will bring us new life in the power of his Resurrection. These are reminders that history and salvation are still unfolding and we are a part of it. We are called to enter into the mystery of God’s grace, unfolding in the here and now,” Bishop Woost said.
“We do not know how this will end and how our lives will be transformed. Do not skip these days and just come back on Easter Sunday. Let Christ continue to write his story in your life and lead you to salvation. May this week be a blessing for each of us as Christ continues to work through, in and with us,” he added.
Here is a recap of the cathedral’s Holy Week liturgies, confession schedule and broadcast Mass opportunities.
The sacred triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7 p.m. on Holy Thursday, March 28. Bishop Malesic will be the celebrant and Bishop Woost will be the homilist. This Mass commemorates the Last Supper, during which Christ instituted the sacrament of the holy Eucharist, the sacrament of holy orders (priesthood) and gave us his commandment to love one another. During the liturgy, the bishop will wash the feet of some faithful in remembrance of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles at the Last Supper.
The cathedral will remain open until 11 p.m. for prayer and adoration. Night Prayer will be at 10:45 p.m.
In addition on Holy Thursday, there will be a Holy Night Hike after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The hike will feature prayer/adoration opportunities at the following churches on the West Side of Cleveland:
- St. John Cantius, 906 College Ave.
- St. Wendelin, 2281 Columbus Road
- St. Emeric, 1860 W. 22nd St.
- St. Malachi, 2459 Washington Ave.
- St. Augustine, 2486 W. 14th St.
- St. Andrew Kim, 2310 W. 14th St.
- St. Patrick, 3602 Bridge Ave.
Bishop Malesic will be the celebrant and homilist for the Passion of the Lord at 3 p.m. on Good Friday, April 18. This solemn liturgy commemorates the Passion and death of Jesus Christ. The traditional adoration of the cross will take place during the liturgy. The cathedral will be open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Easter Vigil will be celebrated at 9 p.m. on Holy Saturday, April 19. This liturgy consists of four components: the service of light, liturgy of the Word, liturgy of baptism and liturgy of the Eucharist. Bishop Malesic will be the celebrant and homilist.
The cathedral will be open 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. (after the Easter Vigil).
Bishop Malesic also will be the celebrant and homilist at the 11 a.m. Mass on Easter, April 20, which will be livestreamed. There also will be an 8:30 a.m. Mass that day. There will be no 5:30 p.m. Mass on Easter. The cathedral will be open 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In addition to these liturgies, Stations of the Cross will be prayed at noon on Good Friday, April 18.
Confessions during Holy Week will be available in the 7:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 17; 7:45-11:45 a.m., 1-2 p.m. and 4:20-5 p.m. April 18 and 7:45-11 a.m. April 19.
The traditional blessing of the food will take place at 11:15 a.m. on Holy Saturday, April 19.
The normal daily Mass schedule will resume at 7:15 a.m. and noon (livestreamed) on Easter Monday, April 21. The normal weekday confession schedule, 6:30-7 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., also resumes on April 21.
Normal cathedral hours are 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays and 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sundays.
The cathedral rectory office will be closed on Good Friday and April 21. Normal rectory office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information about liturgies, confessions, or hours at the cathedral, click here.
The Diocese of Cleveland also broadcasts a TV Mass for those unable to attend Mass at a parish because of short-term or long-term health reasons. The broadcast is at 10 a.m. Sundays on WUAB Channel 43 (the CW). Bishop Malesic will be the celebrant for the (taped) Mass on Easter, April 20.
Cox Communications Cable subscribers may select channel 45 to view Mass each week at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sundays.
In addition, two radio stations air the Mass on Sundays. WINT 1330 AM broadcasts Mass each week at 9 a.m. and WCCR 1260 AM The Rock, airs Mass at 10:30 a.m.
For a Spanish-language Mass, visit Sacred Heart Chapel's YouTube page here.