The Pastor's Pen

April 9, 2023 Easter Day

“We proclaim your death O Lord, and profess your resurrection, until you come again!”

 

Easter – There is no other annual commemoration so desperately needed than that of Easter! This feast is undoubtedly the source of our greatest hope!. Yet Easter is sadly void of all hope when it is trivialized in secular and nonreligious ways which would reduce it merely to a rite of Spring symbolized by bunnies and baby chicks and celebrated by consumption of candy and marshmallow confections of the same. Rather, Easter is meant to be about the celebration of the astounding truth that Christ who has truly died, has risen again, and promises the same to all who place their faith in him and who incorporate themselves into him by baptism. So today we dare look at our future, and boldly count on it enduring past even the supposed limit of death because in Christ God has mercifully rescued us from death’s power. On a daily basis the news reports stories of lives cut short by war, gun violence, murder, the effects of inadequate food or medical care and countless other injustices . With these tragic stories and more repeating hour by hour on news channels we could easily fall into despair. The remedy to that is the Easter hope that is ours because Christ who alone is perfectly innocent, died the most cruel and unjust of all deaths but rose again from the dead. . Thus, no unjust tragedy is a stranger to Christ who has redeemed even what we may find especially disturbing by sharing in a similar fate yet coming to the glory of the resurrection, So let us be, as Christ’s followers, people of life, who are good stewards of our own lives and reliable advocates for the value, dignity and protection of the lives of others whether they be innocent or guilty. Therefore, even though our peace may rightly be disturbed by much of what we see, may we never be robbed of hope because we can trust that in the end all will be made right when those unjustly deprived of life here will be part of the resurrection to life eternal revealed by God in Christ.

50 Days: The week of weeks, that is, seven weeks of seven days and ending with the feast of Pentecost is the time set aside to celebrate Easter. This is the longest season in our Church year because it is the most important. So let us not fall into the notion that Eater is a single holiday, but rather 50 very holy days during which we are to proclaim and celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the hope of our own rising one day through him, with him, and in him! .

Easter Duty: Because of an emphasis on the unworthiness of any of us to receive Holy Communion which has been part of the piety of the Christian faithful at times in the past, legislation was enacted in the Church requiring the faithful to receive Holy Communion at least once each year. As that is the case, then Confession was also understood as necessary prior to receiving the Eucharist and so Easter Duty became part of Canon Law and still remains there. This annual duty is fulfilled by going to Confession and Communion between the beginning of Lent and the end of the Season of Easter.

Adult Enrichment: WHY WE WORSHIP a series of lectures by Dr. Brant Pitre held on Sundays in between the 8:30 and !0:30 Masses and on Sunday evenings after the 5:30 Mass will resume next weekend, April 16th.

Grand Annual Collection: Gratitude is due to those 210 parish households who have responded to this important annual fund raiser to support the major capital expenditures in the maintenance of the parish’s buildings and grounds. Thus far the grand annual collection has raised $95,950. Those who have not yet done so are asked to consider making a gift before the end of April.

Decision Time – The Holy Land: The pilgrimage to the Holy Land in February 2024 to be Led by Fr. Healey and Deacon Hughes is filling rapidly, so those who are still sitting on the fence might wish to sign on before the trip is full. Information is available at the entrances to the Church; those who wish to participate are encouraged to fill out the registration form provided and include the $500 deposit with it and return it to Kellie Alliegro in the parish office by April 30th.