FAQ(s) - HOLY CROSS CHURCH CATFORD
HOLY CROSS CHURCH
FAQ(s)
Please find below some useful information regarding the Parish and Our Catholic Faith:
- Find the mass times?Services
- Have a baby christened?Baptism,Office,Form
- Get married?Office
- Find the parish school?School
- Becoming a Catholic?RCIA
- Booking a Mass?Office
- Receiving/Subscribing to the Newsletter?Newsletter
- How can you make a donation or support the Parish Church?Gift Aid
- Moving within the Parish?Registration
- Moving out the Parish?Send email to support@holycross-catford.org.uk
- Looking for church,mass,priests and other services in UK?Catholic Directory
- Why is Easter celebrated on a different date each year?
- What is the significance of the Paschal Candle?
- Why don’t we recite the Creed on Easter Sunday?
- When are the Church candles blessed?
- What are the Holy Oils?
- When are we obliged to fast?
Why is Easter celebrated on a different date each year?
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs at the end of March.
Where do the ashes on Ash Wednesday come from?
The Ash on Ash Wednesday is made from the remains of the Palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday.
What is the significance of the Paschal Candle?
At the Easter Vigil service, the Paschal Candle is blessed: The year is engraved on it together with a cross and five grains of incense are inserted to represent the five wounds of Christ. It is kept beside the altar during Paschal time and is moved to the side of the font for the rest of the year. What is Paschaltide?
Paschaltide lasts from Easter Sunday until Trinity Sunday. We continue to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord during this period. 40 days after Easter there is the feast of the Ascension and 50 days after Easter the Feast of Pentecost.Trinity Sunday is a week after the feast of Pentecost.
Why don’t we recite the Creed on Easter Sunday?
On Easter Sunday, the recitation for the Creed is replaced with a renewal of the Baptismal promises together with a sprinkling of the water from the Font blessed during the Easter Vigil service. When should we genuflect during the Creed?
March 25th is the Feast of the Annunciation: the Creed is recited during Mass and all genuflect at the words “The Word was made flesh”. The same gesture is repeated during the recitation of the Creed on Christmas Day.
When are the Church candles blessed?
Candles for use in the Church throughout the year are blessed on February 2nd, Candlemas Day.
What are the Holy Oils?
There are three Holy Oils: Chrism, the oil of the sick and the oil of the catechumens. They are used in the administration of the Sacraments during the course of the year. They are blessed by the Archbishop in the Cathedral Church on Maundy Thursday and they are received into the parish Church at the evening Mass on Maundy Thursday.
When are we obliged to fast?
There are now two days of fasting and abstinence during the year: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The rules apply to those between the ages of 21 and 60. Canon law does not specify the exact amounts for fasting but generally it is interpreted as one full meal with smaller amounts at other times. Those over 14 are required to keep the rule of abstinence from meat.
