Lent, Holy Week and Easter
Lent, Holy Week and Easter
The season of Lent offers us the opportunity for transformation through the traditional disciplines of self-examination, penitence, self-denial, study, and preparation for Easter.
On Ash Wednesday, we begin Lent with the receiving of ashes as a symbol of our mortality. Entering a forty-day season of reflection we look at what holds us back, spiritually and personally. We look at how we want to spend our life, not drifting through it but actively deciding how we want to live and thrive.
Lots of people give something up for Lent, something that’s a daily habit – from coffee to Twitter. Not reaching for what we do habitually reminds us that this is a special season when we pay attention to what we choose to have in our lives. And for some, taking on a new discipline of prayer of study helps us to re-focus our attention towards God. For Christians, in this we follow Jesus’ time in the desert, where he spent 40 days and was tempted.
As the season turns towards Holy Week, the tone of the season intensifies as we anticipate the story of Christ’s suffering and death. As the week progresses, we follow the events of the Passion – from Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, to the last supper with the disciples and his commandment that they should love one another, to his betrayal, suffering and death.
But death is not the end, and as the Easter Vigil begins we gather in darkness, marking the end of the emptiness of Holy Saturday, and leading into the celebration of Christ’s resurrection and the dawning of a new world in which love triumphs over death.
Whoever you are, and whatever you believe, you are welcome to come to St Paul’s and experience Lent and Easter through words, silence, and music at one of our services, online learning events and concerts listed.
Week commencing Sunday 10th April
Sunday 10th April 2022
Palm Sunday
Holy Communion
8.00am
Morning Prayer
8.45am
Procession and Sung Eucharist
11.00am: A dramatic re-enactment of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, with a procession of palms led by a donkey. Learn more.
Choral Evensong
3.00pm
Eucharist
5.30pm
Monday 11th, Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th April
Morning Prayer
8.00am
Eucharist
8.30am
Eucharist
12.30pm
Sung Eucharist
5.00pm
Thursday 14th April 2022
Maundy Thursday
We remember Jesus sharing the Last Supper with his disciples and his commandment that they should love one another.
Morning Prayer
8.00am
Eucharist
8.30am
Chrism Mass
10.30am: A Sung Eucharist for the Clergy and Licensed Lay Ministers of the Diocese, with the Blessing of the Oils and the Renewal of Ordination Vows. Learn more.
Liturgy of the Day and Watch Until Midnight
5.00pm - 12 midnight
Friday 15th April 2022
Good Friday
On Good Friday, the Cathedral will be open for worship and prayer only. All services are free and unticketed. On this day we remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus. It is a sombre day where we meet, pray and reflect on the sacrifice Jesus willingly paid for all our sins.
Choral Mattins and Litany in Procession
10.00am
The Three Hours
12.00 – 3.00pm: Readings, hymns, reflections, music, prayer and silence, led by the Bishop of Willesden. Please feel free to come and go as you please. Learn more
Evening Prayer
4.00pm
Litany with the Veneration of the Cross
5.00pm: A profoundly moving and powerful act of worship at the foot of the Cross. Learn more
Saturday 16th April 2022
Holy Saturday
The Easter Vigil is the first service of Easter and begins with the symbolic expectant waiting for the resurrection of Jesus. The Paschal Candle depicts new life and light and represents Jesus’s resurrection on the first Easter morning.
Morning Prayer
8.00am
Easter Vigil and Diocesan Confirmation
6.00pm: The celebration of Easter begins with the lighting of the Paschal Candle, with Baptism and Confirmation, and the first Eucharist of Easter. Learn more
Week commencing Sunday 17th April
Sunday 17th April 2022
Easter Day
We celebrate Christ’s resurrection and the dawning of a new world in which love triumphs over death.
Dawn Eucharist
5.45am: We gather on the West Steps of the Cathedral where we light candles before moving inside to celebrate the Eucharist at the font. Learn more
Holy Communion
8.00am: Holy Communion according to the Book of Common Prayer celebrated at the High Altar. Learn more
Choral Mattins
10.00am: A sung service from the Book of Common Prayer with canticles, hymns, readings and an address. Learn more
Sung Eucharist
11.15am: The principal Eucharist of Easter Day celebrated under the Dome with people from around the world. Learn more
Festal Evensong
3.00pm: A joyful sung service of Evening Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer with canticles, hymns, readings and sermon. Learn more
Eucharist
5.30pm
