Easter Greetings from the community in Fiji.
Easter celebration has been great here in Fiji as we participated in St. Joseph the Workers’
Church in Tamavua, Fiji.
We had our Easter Celebration start with the Palm Sunday, where we acclaimed and shouted
hosanna to Jesus as he made his journey to Jerusalem as the King. This celebration was
celebrated by Fr. J Micheal Kumar, ss.cc. He looked after the 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass and 7 a.m. on
Sunday. Then at 8:30 a.m. was celebrated by Fr. Johnathan Hurrell, ss.cc. and the 10 a.m. was
celebrated by Fr. Saia Fainga’a, ss.cc. The parish was happy and grateful for all these priests who
helped out in guiding the people as we entered the Holy Week.
As Holy Week continues on and draws to Easter Triduum, the Last Supper of the Lord Mass and
the Institution of the Eucharist was presided Fr. Johnathan was the main presider in this
celebration, and the rest of the community helped out. This was an eye-opening to the people to
see and witness this act of love, and they were grateful that this part of the Mass was brought out
to them and they felt the spirit of Jesus reaching out to us, and He still cares for us.
Holy Thursday: We introduced this year in this parish how Jesus reached out to the marginalized and did not stay
in His comfort zone during the washing of the feet. We had the washing of the feet at various
areas in the Church to portray to the people the act of humility and kindness of Jesus, and also it
allowed the people who cannot sit closer to the front of the church to see the act of Jesus washing
the feet of the apostles, and the washing of the feet was done by the two priests, the deacon, and
3 of the brothers.
There were hundreds of people who attended this celebration, and after the Mass, we had the
adoration until 12 a.m. It was great to see how the faith is alive and strong here in Fiji.
On Good Friday, the parish youth organized a station of the cross cross-walk from Colo-i-Suva
to the parish, which takes approximately 4 hours.
The brothers participated in this walk, which was started at 5 a.m. and concluded around 9am
and we rested until the veneration of the cross, which was at 3 p.m. This service of the
veneration of the cross was attended by more than the night before, and people from St. Joseph
Church came together to pay respect to our Lord and Savior, who suffered and gave up his life
for us.
The tremendous amount of people who came and venerated the cross reflects how important
Jesus’ sacrifice is to them and how they feel in their hearts how Christ emptied himself and came
in the form of a slave until he was crucified on a cross, and the people profess that Christ is the
Lord. The service was ended in silence, as usual, the church was quiet until the next day. Good
Friday Service was led by Fr. J. Michael.
Easter Vigil:
Easter Vigil on Saturday, we started our Mass at 8 p.m. with the lighting of the fire and the
paschal candle. As the chant of “The light of Christ” was done by deacon Tavite, the brothers
helped out in distributing the light from the candle of Christ. Tavite did a great job with the
chanting of the Exulted as well.
This Mass, we had 8 catechumens who were received into the church and were baptized and had
their confirmation in this celebration. It was a great joy to see people continue to convert into the
faith and still strive for the love of Christ. Renewal of Baptism and sprinkling of the holy water
was a blessing to go out of the church and saw the amount of people sitting outside and up to the
side of the road, which shows how the people value their faith and what they believe in. This
celebration was well attended and a blessing to see the hundreds of people come together to
celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
As the last day of Triduum (Easter Sunday), we only had 2 Masses on Sunday, which were at
8:30 a.m. and 10am and we continued to see how people continue to come to actually conclude
the Easter Triduum.
Overall, this celebration of Christ entering Jerusalem and his Paschal Sacrifice is his love for us
and a witness to the faith of the parishioners of St. Joseph the Worker Parish. The parish
prepared very well for this celebration, and the music was just heavenly throughout the Easter
celebration. The parish was grateful for the presence of the community and the help and being
part of this celebration. The brothers were also happy to assist and journey together with the
people in celebrating the great mystery of God’s great love for us. May this Easter Season give
us hope to walk and journey with one another during this holy year and to live up to the legacy
that our late Pope Francis has for us, which is to be a synodal church. A church that reaches out
to people and welcomes everyone back to know the love of Christ, for that is the charism of our
congregation, is the spirit of hospitality and the spirit of welcoming.
Wishing everyone a blessed and joyful Easter from the Community in Fiji.
