April 24th – Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
“The fifty days from the Sunday of the Resurrection to Pentecost Sunday are celebrated in joy and exultation as one feast day, indeed as one ‘great Sunday’.”
(St. Athanasius)
Dear Friends,
It really was a great celebration for our parishes as we remembered the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord! Many thanks to all who worked so hard on the many liturgical celebrations, and special blessings on those who were initiated into the Church!
The danger is that, when we have a celebration, life goes back to normal the next day. In a culture that is fast-paced and production-driven and consumption-oriented, we as Christians are called to witness that something has changed, that we have changed the way we will live life in this passing world. We are to show that the Resurrection has “soaked in,” and that we are different because Jesus has changed our destiny.
As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, let us abound in merciful acts that we pray help change the world. The reality of war (pray for the Ukraine!), the violence and disrespect for all life and lack of justice and peace for all, the absence of love, can all be remedied by Christ though our acts of mercy and kindness.
As our Jewish friends so aptly remind us in the proverb that one small act of kindness and mercy saves the world, let’s start small but powerfully in anything that can help others, not just one day, not just fifty days, but always!
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. Tim
April 17th – Easter Sunday
Dear Friends,
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
On this Sunday, the first day of the week, alongside the Apostles and St. Mary Magdalene, the Church finds herself again before the tomb whose stone has been rolled away and invites each of us to dare to proclaim and rejoice in the glory of the Resurrection of the Lord.
At Holy Mass in these days of the Easter Octave, the Church sings these words of an ancient sequence, Victimae paschali laudes, in thanksgiving for the most awesome event of the Lord’s Resurrection.
Christians, to the Paschal Victim, offer your thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems; Christ, who only is sinless, reconciles sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:
The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring what you saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, who is living, the glory of Jesus’ resurrection; bright angels attesting, the shroud and napkin resting. Yes, Christ my hope is arisen; to Galilee he goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia.
On behalf of Fr. Tim, Fr. John and our entire parish staff, please know of our love, our prayers and our thanks, especially to those who so generously have assisted in our celebrations of Holy Week and Easter.
We also offer a word of gratitude and sincere welcome to those in RCIA who, after the great Easter Vigil, now share with us the name of Catholic. What a blessing you are to our Family of Four Parishes!
Truly for us, Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia!
A most blessed Easter,
Fr. Michael Malucha
April 10th – Palm Sunday
“You. Did. It. For. Me”
Dear Friends,
Peace of Christ. Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta would often refer to the quote above as the “Gospel of the Five Fingers”. You did it for me! Each year, Holy Week is an opportunity to set aside the busyness of life and contemplate this simple truth. You did it for me! How wonderful God’s love is.
Mother Theresa would also tell her sisters that when things get busy, they were to pray more, not less. Chances are that we too feel busy and overwhelmed. So this Holy Week I would invite you to instead pray more, not less! I warmly encourage you to attend as much of the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil) as you can. Any sacrifice of time you make will be rewarded by God! Let us also keep in prayer those to be Baptized and those to be received into full communion with the Church at the Easter Vigil.
Know of my prayers for a blessed Holy Week and a Happy Easter!
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. John
April 3rd – Fifth Sunday of Lent
“We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die.”
(W.H Auden, The Age of Anxiety)
Dear Friends,
We are more than half way through Lent, and our readings this Sunday challenge us and support us in letting the mistakes of our past go. We hold on to so much clutter from the past that we forget the new hope Jesus constantly offers us in which he faces the Cross so we can live in a new and different way. Over and over He encourages us like He did with the woman caught in sin in today’s Gospel: Be free of anything that blocks the flow of grace, be it current choices or past regrets or present worries or anxiety about the future.
So name your illusions, name what holds you bound to your past or lost in worry and regret, so that He who makes all things new will reveal a future filled with hope and love.
Easter is coming!
Sincerely,
with love,
Fr. Tim
