Looking for Easter Mass?

For those who have found your way to my blog looking for Good Friday & Easter masses in Tokyo two churches with English masses can be found in my blogroll on the right of the page.  They are the Franciscan Chapel Center Roppongi, and St Ignatius in Yotsuya next to the campus of Sophia University.  I suggest St Ignatius as they have far more capacity than the FCC.  There are plenty of churches with mass in Japanese which I encourage anyone to try because if I can you really can although it takes a few Sundays to get used to it, and a bilingual mass book.

Holy Thursday

I attended Holy Thursday mass in my usual home parish and was disappointed they still have not fixed the liturgical problems/abuses that plague this one mass in particular. 

The mass does not start as a usual mass and instead begins with  a Q&A style reading about the last supper followed by no homily but right into the foot washing.  They get this wrong by inviting any member of the congregation to one of six stools to have their feet washed, by another member of the congregation then they in turn wash the next persons feet.  A quick google brings up at least one article on why this is wrong http://www.zenit.org/article-15653?l=english

The liturgy of the Eucharist is next where the Precious Blood is also offered to communicants (the only mas of the year it is)but shockingly the norm here, in this church, is people intinct or dip the host into the Precious Blood!  Aaak!   Good links and explanations on why this is not allowed can be found here http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=3446702

I did not do this because I receive on the tongue.  I was brought up with receiving on the hand as the norm but have changed my ways in the last year.  I think it is more respectful for one.   

Next mass is ended and the Blessed Sacrament is carried to a side chapel to the altar of repose, and people file past either bowing or stopping to sit and pray.