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Maundy Thursday (Year: B)

Thu 28th
Mar

Old Testament: Ex. 12:1-8, 11-14
Psalms: Ps. 115:12-13, 15-18
Epistle: 1 Cor. 11:23-26
Gospel: John 13:1-15

Sunday Mass times

Saturday 6:00pm
Sunday 8:00am 10:00am
See weekday Mass times | Diocesan Year Book

Whats Happening

28th
Mar

Maundy Thursday

The first part of the Sacred Paschal Triduum, Maundy (Holy) Thursday commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, when he established the sacrament of Holy Communion and the institution of the priesthood prior to his arrest and crucifixion …

Welcome

Welcome to the web site for the Roman Catholic parish of St. Mary Magdalen Ipswich.  We welcome all visitors and newcomers to the Church, and hope that you find everything you are looking for on this site. Our aim is to keep this web space up to date with current parish news, information and events, aiming to be accessible for the people of the parish and the community in which we are situated.

Under the guidance and leadership of our parish priest, Fr Luke Goymour and his assistant priest Fr Paul Chanh, we are looking to expand and enrich our community in youth projects, music in worship, children's liturgy and other areas. If you want to be active in our future please speak with Fr Paul at the church, or use the contact page

If you have any comments about this site, its content or suggestions for additional content, particularly if you could not find the information you were looking for, please use the contact form to send a message to the webmaster.

On-Line Giving

During the times when our ability to attend church in person was impacted by Coronavirus restrictions, on-line donations to our offertory collection were a lifeline for the parish.  Even if you are now attending again in person, please consider donating on-line to our offertory by setting up a regular payment by standing order from your bank account, or alternatively you can make a one-off payment. This is easy to do - you can find details here. 

A Prayer for Ukraine


God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today.  We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.  We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,  that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.  We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions.  Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them.  We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  Amen

Prayers for the Sick

Almighty and Eternal God, You are the everlasting health of those who believe in You. We ask you to remember those in our parish who are unwell, afflicted or distressed. Grant them comfort, relief and consolation of your Holy Spirit and through the aid of Your tender mercy, restore  them to bodily health. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Find our Facebook Page

Use the QR Code below to find the St Mary Magdalen Facebook group which you can join.


St Mary Magdalen's Parish Newsletter
The latest issue of the parish newsletter is available on-line: you can find it here.
Back copies of the parish newsletter from 2018 to date are also available on-line - select Newsletters from the menu bar, and then select the year required.

The Diocesan Newspaper
You can read the latest edition of Catholic East Anglia, the Diocesan newspaper on-line: you can find it here.

Fr Luke's Homilies
Each week, Fr Luke Goymour records and publishes his homily. You can listen to these recordings by clicking here.

Stations of the Cross
During Holy Week, there will be Stations of the Cross at 6:00 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Good Friday.

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord: 24th March, 2024

This Sunday, called Palm or Passion Sunday, is the first day of Holy Week. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday are called the Triduum - three days that are the highlight of the Church year. There are two Gospels proclaimed at today’s Mass. The first Gospel, proclaimed before the procession with palms, tells of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. Riding on a borrowed colt, Jesus was hailed by the crowds as they blessed God and shouted “Hosanna!” This event is reported in each of the four Gospels.

At the Liturgy of the Word on Palm Sunday, the events of Jesus’ passion are proclaimed in their entirety. In Lectionary Cycle B, we read the passion of Jesus as found in the Gospel of Mark. We will hear these events proclaimed again when we celebrate the Triduum later in the week. On Good Friday, we will read the passion of Jesus from the Gospel of John.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ passion and death are presented as the consequence of the tension between the Jewish authorities and Jesus that had been building throughout his public ministry. This tension reached its breaking point when Jesus drove the merchants and moneychangers from the Temple. After this event, the chief priests and scribes began seeking a way to put Jesus to death, and yet, this is only the surface explanation for his death.

When Jesus was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin—the council of Jewish priests, scribes, and elders—he was charged with blasphemy, citing his threat to the Temple. When he was brought before Pilate, however, the religious authorities presented his crime as a political one, charging that Jesus claimed to be king of the Jews. In continuity with a theme of Mark’s Gospel, the messianic claim of Jesus is widely misunderstood.

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ disciples are rarely models of faith and do little to invoke confidence in their capacity to continue his ministry after his death. They fare no better in Mark’s narrative of Jesus’ passion and death. At the Last Supper, the disciples insisted that none among them would betray Jesus. When Jesus predicted that their faith would be shaken in the events ahead, Peter and the other disciples protested vehemently. Yet in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus returned three times to find them sleeping. Jesus prayed in agony over his impending fate while his disciples slumbered through the night. Just as Jesus predicted, Peter denied Jesus, and the disciples were absent during Jesus’ passion and death. Only the women who had been followers of Jesus in Galilee are said to have been present at the Crucifixion, but they remained at a distance.

Throughout this Gospel, Mark challenges the reader to consider the claim with which the Gospel begins: Jesus is the Son of God. When we read Mark’s account of the passion, we begin to comprehend the deeper theological statement being made about Jesus’ death. In Mark’s telling of the passion narrative, Jesus understood his death to have been preordained, and he accepted this death in obedience to God’s will. Jewish Scripture is quoted only once, but there are several references to the fulfilment of the Scriptures. Jesus understood his anointing in Bethany as an anticipation of his burial, and he announced that this story would be told together with the Gospel throughout the world. Jesus predicted his betrayal by Judas as well as Peter’s denial. At his arrest, Jesus acknowledged that the preordained time had arrived. Jesus was both confident and silent before his accusers. After he was sentenced to death, Jesus did not speak again until his final cry from the cross. The bystanders misunderstood and believed that he was calling for Elijah. The Roman centurion, however, affirmed what Mark has presented throughout this Gospel: Jesus is the Son of God. Nowhere was this revealed more fully than in his death on the cross.

During Holy Week, we prayerfully remember the events of Jesus’ passion and death. As we meditate on the cross, we ask again and anew what it means to make the statement of faith that Jesus, in his obedient suffering and dying, revealed himself to us as God’s Son. Courtesy Loyola Press.

The Easter Triduum

Sundown on Holy Thursday to sundown on Easter Sunday is considered the most solemn part of the liturgical year. This three-day period is referred to as the Easter Triduum, from the Latin tris (“three”) and dies (“days”). The sacred Triduum is one great festival recounting the last three days of Jesus' life on earth and the events of his Passion and Resurrection.

Mass of the Lord’s Supper: On Holy Thursday, Jesus gave an example of how we should serve one another by washing the feet of his disciples. This act of service is commemorated at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper when the priest washes the feet of 12 persons of the congregation. We are looking for 12 volunteers, young or old, male or female, to take part in this ceremony – a list for names is in the narthex. Please put your name down if you would like to take part. After Mass there will be watching in front of the Altar of Repose until 10:00 pm.

Good Friday: The Solemn Liturgy will be celebrated at 3:00 pm, and there will be Stations of the Cross at 6:00 pm. At the end of the solemn liturgy, there will be a retiring collection for the Shrines of the Holy Land.

Holy Saturday: The Easter Vigil, comprising four elements - The Service of Light, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of Baptism and the first Mass of Easter - begins after sundown on the day before Easter. Our service will begin at 8:00 pm.

Prayer for Peace in the Middle East

They will hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, no longer will they learn how to make war.
Isaiah 2:4

God of peace, bearer of hope, we seek your help for the peoples of the Middle East.
Quiet the clamour of war and guide us towards peace.
Where there is hatred and division, sow seeds of calm and openness.
Where there is destruction, help us to rebuild.
Where children are crying, bring an end to tears.
Shelter your peoples and protect them.
Guide them and keep them from harm.
Show us how to break down the barriers of history and fear and breathe whispers of hope.
Amen.
Linda Jones / CAFOD

The Divine Mercy



You expired, Jesus,
but the source of life gushed forth for souls,
and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.






This picture of the Divine Mercy was painted by Ben Goymour and hangs in St Mark's Catholic Church, Ipswich.

Each Friday morning after the 10:00 Mass at St Mary Magdalen church, we pray a chaplet of the Divine Mercy in front of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by Benediction.