Actually, the headline isn’t quite accurate… The 11:15 Mass next Sunday, 26th April, is cancelled. There will be no English-language Mass at St Alphonse on that day. This is due to the annual ‘Messe du Peuple de Dieu’ at the cathedral at 10:00. The Archbishop invites all the various language communities to join him for this Mass each year to emphasise our unity in faith in the midst of our cultural and linguistic diversity.

The Saturday evening Vigil Mass at 19:00 remains unaffected.

Please do try to attend the 10:00 Mass in the cathedral, or the 19:00 Mass the evening before.

Fr Ed

The Luxembourg European Association of Performing Arts (LEAPA) are presenting a Traditional Folk Evening this coming Friday, 24th April, at 20:30. The venue is the Altrimenti Centre Culturel, 5 Avenue Marie Thérèse. More information can be found on the flyer.

Fr Ed

Our solemn celebration of the Lord’s Passion, death and resurrection have now brought us to Easter Sunday, when our first ‘Alleluia’ for forty days has been proclaimed. We now have 8 days of the Feast of Easter (an ‘Octave’), and 50 days of Eastertide, where the predominant theme of the liturgy will be the resurrection of Jesus and its after-effects on the disciples and the wider society.

For the first time in our church, we have an Easter garden, featuring the Empty Tomb and a river of flowing water; the garden, created and installed by Sonya and John Heffernan, is a beautiful focus for our liturgy and prayer in these few days — see the photos below.

Thanks are due to so many people for making our celebrations so reflective, joyful, participative, dignified, and, indeed, memorable: musicians, singers, Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, basket-makers, Servers, those involved in processions, fire-lighters, church organisers and certainly not least, hospitality ministers, serving after Mass. The labour has been, of course, a labour of love; it was gratifying to see so many people take part in the Masses and services in the days since Palm Sunday, up to and including a packed-out church today (where do all the children and young people come from?). It’s not simply about numbers, but about the witness and support we give to each other and to other people when we come together to worship. As always, there were many comments from visitors, deeply appreciative of their experience of our worship.

Thanks too, to the providers and servers of Lenten soup and bread after our Lenten Wednesday inter-linguistic Masses. The congregations here seemed to be mainly Luxembourgish and French-speaking, and again appreciative of what we were offering.

We miss, of course, all the members of our community who are away for Easter, on holiday/visiting family and friends, and we look forward to their return. The normal weekly life of the parish resumes soon, with classes for Confirmation and First Holy Communion preparation, and the variety of other events.

To one and all, sincere wishes for a joyful and peace-filled Easter. Fr Ed.

The Easter Garden in all its glory

The Easter Garden and its creators

Easter Garden by night

Would you be willing to have your feet washed at Mass this evening? As Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, so each Holy Thursday priests throughout the world wash feet at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper as a sign of their service of people, following the Lord’s example. After the gospel reading, you will be invited to come forward and take a seat in front of the altar. You will then be invited to remove footwear, and I will wash feet and give you a towel so you can finish drying them. It’s simple; in itself, it’s an act of service, contributing to the liturgy where we hear once again that we should do as Jesus does in serving each other.  This appeal is for women feet, men feet and young feet! If you can do this, please let me know.

Thank you

Fr Ed

Fr Aloyse Maurer, member of the St Alphonse Redemptorist community here in Luxembourg, passed away this morning (30 March) in the Zithaklinik. Fr Aloyse, born in Alsace in 1920, had been Provincial of the Redemptorists of the Strasbourg Province and long-time Superior of the Luxembourg community. His funeral is provisionally arranged for Tuesday 07 April — details will be published when confirmed. When the couvent St Alphonse closed in August 2014, Fr Aloyse ‘retired’ to the Franciscan Sisters’ retirement home in Belair; he will be missed by the Redemptorist community, his family and his many friends. RIP.

Fr Ed