As we approach the sacred season of Lent, St. Joseph’s Church welcomes you to join us in prayer, reflection, and renewal. With a rich schedule of liturgical events and spiritual practices, we invite you to journey with us through this profound time of preparation leading up to Easter.
Ash Wednesday: February 14, 2024 – Mass at 6:30 pm
Our Lenten journey begins with Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting and abstinence. Join us for Mass at 6:30 pm as we receive ashes, symbolizing our repentance and mortality.
Fridays during Lent – Way of the Cross at 6:30 pm (except February 23rd)
Every Friday during Lent, except for February 23rd, we will gather for the Way of the Cross at 6:30 pm. This solemn devotion allows us to meditate on the journey of Jesus to Calvary and contemplate the depth of His sacrifice.
Holy Week Schedule:
Palm Sunday: March 24, 2024 – 9:00 am and 11:00 am
Begin Holy Week by commemorating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem with Masses at 9:00 am and 11:00 am.
Holy Thursday: March 28, 2024 – 6:30 pm
Join us on Holy Thursday as we celebrate the Last Supper with Mass at 6:30 pm, recalling the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood.
Good Friday: March 29, 2024 – 6:30 pm
Experience the solemnity of Good Friday with our evening service at 6:30 pm, reflecting on the Passion of Christ and venerating the Cross. Fasting and abstinence are observed on this day.
Holy Saturday: March 30, 2024 – 6:30 pm
Prepare for the Easter Vigil with our liturgy at 6:30 pm, where we await the Resurrection of our Lord in joyful anticipation.
Easter Sunday: March 31, 2024 – 9:00 am and 11:00 am
Celebrate the glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ with Masses at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Let us rejoice in the triumph of life over death and the promise of salvation.
At St. Joseph’s Church in Phuket, we invite you to embrace the Lenten season wholeheartedly. Through prayer, fasting, and reflection, may we draw closer to God and deepen our commitment to discipleship. Join us in these meaningful liturgical celebrations as we journey together towards the joy of Easter. All services will be held in english.
FASTING & ABSTINENCE
Abstinence
The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Moral theologians have traditionally considered this also to forbid soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal-derived products such as gelatin, butter, cheese and eggs, which do not have any meat taste.
Fasting
The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday [Canon 97] to the 59th Birthday [i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday] to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The fast is broken by eating between meals and by drinks which could be considered food (milk shakes, but not milk). Alcoholic beverages do not break the fast; however, they seem contrary to the spirit of doing penance.
- Canon 1250 All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the entire Church.
- Canon 1251 Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Canon 1252 All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence; all adults are bound by the law of fast up to the beginning of their sixtieth year. Nevertheless, pastors and parents are to see to it that minors who are not bound by the law of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic sense of penance.
- Can. 1253 It is for the conference of bishops to determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence and to substitute in whole or in part for fast and abstinence other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.
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