To Hear the Gospel and Make a Difference

Sunday, 3/20

RE 3 yr old prgm, Rm D 9:15 am

RE Classes, Hall/School 9:15 am

No CLOW

RE Older Sac, Rm D 11 am

Confirmation, Parish Hall 6 pm Monday, 3/21

RE Older Sac, Parish Hall 4 pm

Communal Penance 7:00 pm Tuesday, 3/22

RE Grds 1-3, School 3:40 - 5 pm

RE Grds 4-5, Parish Hall 3:40 - 5 pm

RE Grds 7-8, Parish Hall 7 - 8:15 pm

Perpetual Help Devotion, Church 7 pm

Wednesday, 3/23

Lenten Scripture, Chapel 8:45 am

RE Grds 1-3, School 3:40 - 5 pm

RE Grds 4-5, Parish Hall 3:40 - 5 pm

RE Grd 6, Parish Hall 7 - 8:15 pm Thursday, 3/24 - HOLY THURSDAY

No 8 am Mass

Centering Prayer, Min. Ctr 10 am

NO RE classes

Mass 7:00 pm

Adoration in Gym Friday, 3/25 - GOOD FRIDAY

No 8 am Mass

Youth Min. Cross Walk 12:00 pm

WEEK AT A GLANCE

Friday, 3/25 - GOOD FRIDAY- cont.

Liturgy of the Passion 12:00 pm

Stations of the Cross 1:00 pm

Liturgy of the Passion 6:00 pm Saturday, 3/26 - HOLY SATURDAY

No 5:00 pm Mass

Easter Vigil Liturgy, 8:00 pm Sunday, 3/27 - EASTER SUNDAY

Masses: 7:00, 8:00, 9:15, 10:45 12:15 in Church

Outdoor Mass, 9:15 am

Outdoor Mass 10:45 am

No 6 pm Mass

SCHEDULE OF MASSES

Daily Masses: Monday-Friday,

8:00 am Saturday Masses:

8:00 am & 5:00 pm Sunday Masses:

7 am, 8 am, 9:15 am, 10:45 am, 12:15 pm, 6:00 pm

CONFESSIONS: Saturday: 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Parish Office: 682-2486 www.ctkph.org

Religious Ed: 686-1017

www.ctkreligiouseducation.org

Youth Ministry: 676-0979 www.ctkym.org

CTK School: 685-1109

www.ctkschool.org

CHRIST THE KING COMMUNITY

Holy Week Schedule

on Bulletin Flap

Dear Friends,

Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entrance of Christ into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-9), when palm branches were placed in His path, before His arrest on Holy Thursday and His Crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent, and the week in which Chris-tians celebrate the mystery of their salvation through Christ's Death and His Resurrection on Easter Sun-day.

The Jewish people most likely picked up the practice of using and waving palms in celebrations and coronations from

the Romans. The waving of palms was significant in those days in Jerusalem because the Romans used to give palms to

those who were victorious in their games, for example chariot races, gladiatorial games, military conquests and the

crowning of Caesar.

Because “the hour” had come, it was time for Jesus to make the last public affirmation

of His claim that He was their Messiah, the King. He drew attention to His Kingship in

two ways, first, by the fulfillment of a prophecy familiar to the people, and second by

the tributes of Divinity, which He accepted as His Own. Matthew, the Evangelist ex-

plicitly states that the solemn procession was to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah years

before:

Tell the daughter of Zion, Here is your King, who comes to you in gentleness, riding on

an ass. Matthew 21: 5

The prophecy of Zechariah was meant to contrast the majesty and the humility of the

Savior. If He had entered into the city with regal pomp in the manner of the conquerors,

He would have given occasion to believe that He was a political Messiah. But the circumstance He chose validated His

claim that His Kingdom was not of this world. It was not the kingship of the throne, which he claimed, but the kingship

of the heart. He came humbly and riding upon an ass. In western lands the ass is a despised beast. In the East the ass

could be a noble animal. Often a King came riding upon an ass, but when he did, it was the sign that he came in peace.

The horse was the mount of war. The ass was the mount of peace. So when Jesus claimed to be King, he claimed to be

the King of peace. He showed that he came, not to destroy, but to love; not to condemn, but to help; not in the might of

arms, but in the strength of love. This was an invitation to people not to open their palaces, but their hearts to our King.

Invitation to Celebrate Holy Week

To me, the most comforting part of Holy Week is not the waving of triumphal palms on one

Sunday morning, or the flowers and joyous hymns on the next. It’s what happens in between.

It’s Jesus on Maundy Thursday sharing a table with the people he loved the most. It’s him

washing their feet, and showing that the mark of a true leader is whether they can serve oth-

ers. And it is Jesus still loving those disciples even though he knew that, at best, they would

abandon him, and at worst, they would betray him. And it is Jesus in the garden, alone, heart-

broken, and struggling between what he wanted to do and what he knew he had to do. And on Good Friday, it continues. The world turns against him, and the ones who cheered his entry in Jerusalem instead cheer his death. He suffers. He calls out to a God who does not seem to answer. He doubts. He feels pain, and loss, and grief. And in the end he loses the life he knew. I am sometimes asked by those who are going through a difficult time whether God is angry when they have doubts, or when they wonder why God doesn’t seem to be answer-ing prayers. They ask if God understands when we suffer, or when we feel alone. When they do, I point first not to the Christ of Palm Sunday or Easter, but to the Christ of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. The one who lived as one of us. Who loved as one of us. Who

doubted as one of us. Who suffered as one of us. And who died as one of us.

I invite you to celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday and every day in between – Holy Thursday, Good Friday and

Holy Saturday!

Fr. Paulson

PRAY FOR THE SICK IN OUR PARISH: Bob Bedford, Jen Knuckles, Fred Morro, Robert Sweeney and Gabriella Garcia

Father of goodness and love, hear our prayers for the sick members of our community. May they find con-solation in your healing presence. We ask this through the Lord Jesus who healed those who believed. Amen.

Winter Nights Signups! CTK will be hosting Winter Nights again this year from Monday, March 28th to Monday, April 11th. The sign up sheet to volunteer or donate food is outside of mass. If your ministry is interested in hosting a dinner or activ-ity, contact Kate at katedoherty.ctk@gmail.com. We are especially looking for a few strong backs to help load and unload the trucks on Monday, April 11, 2016.

Join the Ecumenical Peace Institute at the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Laboratory on Good Friday, March 25. Participants will gather at Vasco and Patterson Pass Roads in Livermore at 6:45 am, with worship at 7:00 am followed by procession to the Nuclear Weapons gate, Stations of the Cross & nonviolent acts of wit-ness. Afterwards, about 10 am to noon, community gathering to share our work and actions at Asbury Unit-ed Methodist Church. Light refresh-ments provided. For further infor-mation call 510-990-0374.

Save the Date for Sr. Joanne’s Re-tirement Celebration! Make plans to join us to celebrate Sr. Joanne and her many, many contributions to all of us here at CTK. We will celebrate at the 12:15 mass on Sunday, April 24, followed by an outdoor reception. More details to follow!

Want to listen to some great stories? We all have a “life story” to tell. As a Caring Hands volunteer, you have the opportunity to be there for some-one who has a lifetime of stories to tell. As a Caring Hands volunteer you can make a significant impact on dispelling the loneliness and isolation that affects so many seniors. For more information about volunteering for this unique and special Caring Hands Volunteer program, call Linda Groobin at 925-952-2999.

Easter Flowers - March 26th: We invite everyone to bring a flower/s as we prepare our Easter Resur-rection cross. Please bring strong stemmed flowers (roses, mums, carnation, etc). We will be decorating our cross from 10:30 to noon on Holy Saturday morning, March 26th. Depending on the weather, you will find us on the grass area or in the gym. If you plan to attend the Easter egg hunt, bring along a flower. Thanks, questions to Sr. Maureen at 686-1017.

Knights of Colum-bus Easter Egg Hunt - The Knights annual egg hunt will be held on Holy Saturday, March 26th, starting

at 10:00 am on the CTK lawn area. All children ages 10 and under are invited to participate. Everyone that donates non-perishable food for the St. Vincent DePaul Society will re-ceive a raffle ticket for a drawing for prizes. There will be games such as egg toss, and races for each age group after the egg hunt. There will also be hot dogs, nachos and drinks for sale. The Easter Bunny will be hopping by to take pictures around 10:15 am!

Young Adult Retreat: Apr il 1-2, 2016 at Our Lady of Lourdes in Oak-land. “Hearts on Fire: Living Faith in Daily Life with Spiritual Ex-ercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. Dynamic presentations, methods of prayer in daily life, Friday evening coffeehouse with live music! For young adults 18-39, single or mar-ried. Learn more and register online for only $30.00 at apostleshipofprayer.org/heartsonfire.

The Light for Others Catholic Group will show a film in Rossmoor entitled “Purgatory: The Forgotten Church”. Also learn about indul-gences. What does the church really teach? Sunday, March 20 from 2:00 - 4:30 pm at the Vista Room, Hillside Clubhouse. 3400 Golden Rain Rd. Walnut Creek. Call Nel for more information 925-384-5552.

Taize Prayer around the Cross will be held Sunday, March 20 at Walnut Creek Methodist Church at 1543 Sunnyvale Ave.

Come join us.

Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat: Has an abortion left you with a broken heart? Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats renew hearts broken by abortion. Our upcoming retreat is April 1-3. The retreat offers a loving and supportive environment where women and men can reconcile painful post-abortive emotions and begin the process of renewal and healing. Rachel’s Vine-yard is therapy for the soul. For con-fidential inquiries, contact Gloria: (510) 384-6875, or gloriamal-donado375@ sbcglobal.net. Visit afterchoice.org for more information.

Help add to the beauty and joy of our Easter celebration! We wel-come the donation of colorful Easter plants in memory of loved ones (not Easter lilies); just drop them off next Saturday between 9:30 and 11:30 am. A memorial book will be available. If you prefer, you can take a flower donation envelope and help by mak-ing a donation to offset the costs of decorating both inside the Church and our outside mass area. Another way you can help celebrate is to write a note of welcome to one or several of our “new Catholics” who join our community this Easter. You can find their names and pictures in last weeks bulletin. Lastly, sign-ups for Holy Week are still available in the vesti-bule. Sign up to help.

HOLY WEEK SERVICES 2016

Monday, March 21 -Communal Penance Service at 7:00 pm

HOLY THURSDAY – March 24 7:00 pm Mass followed by adoration and

prayer (in the gym). Holy Thursday commemorates Washing the feet of the

Apostles, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Institution of

Priesthood.

GOOD FRIDAY – March 25 Commemorates the death of Jesus.

12:00 noon and 6:00 pm - Liturgy of the Passion (in the Church). There will be Stations of the Cross at 1:00 pm followed by a reflection

on the passion and death of Jesus.

HOLY SATURDAY – March 26 Easter Vigil Liturgy 8:00 pm

EASTER SUNDAY – March 27 Masses: 7:00, 8:00,

9:15, 10:45, 12:15 in Church

9:15 am (outdoor Family Liturgy), 10:45 am (outdoor Family Liturgy)

(No 6:00 pm Mass)