Dear Parishioners,

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The Church rings in the Easter Season at the Easter Vigil by singing The Exultet, the Easter Proclamation, a beautiful and quotable message declaring that Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. Here is a small portion:

This is the night when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld. Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed...to ransom a slave You gave away Your Son!

O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!

 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the event that makes sense out of His life, teaching and sacrifice. It is also the event that makes sense of our lives too.

 

We live in a world of contrasts. It is filled with natural beauty and yet natural disasters. The world is filled with people that enrich culture, conquer diseases, and invent ways to feed people, heat and cool homes, and travel the globe. There are also people who proudly wage war, exploit others, and sow seeds of hate. How do we make sense of this place called earth?

 

The Vatican II document, The Church in the Modern World, addresses these (and many more) tensions that we face today. And amid those tensions and questions, it says this:

The Church firmly believes that Christ, who died and was raised up for all, can through His Spirit offer man the light and the strength to measure up to his supreme destiny. Nor has any other name under the heaven been given to man by which it is fitting for him to be saved. She likewise holds that in her most benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal point and the goal of man, as well as of all human history. The Church also maintains that beneath all changes there are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ, Who is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. Hence under the light of Christ, the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of every creature, the council wishes to speak to all men in order to shed light on the mystery of man and to cooperate in finding the solution to the outstanding problems of our time. (Gaudium et Spes #10, par. 3)

 

Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, is the key, the focal point, and goal of our lives!

 

It is my hope that as we enter the Easter season, we can place our full trust in the reality that Jesus Christ is alive and near us. He simultaneously reigns gloriously from heaven and yet comes to us under the appearances of bread and wine in the Eucharist. Let us welcome Him with open and grateful hearts.

 

Amid the uncertainties of this world, Jesus is our unconquerable hope. Let us trust Him!

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Next Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, is now also called Divine Mercy Sunday. Based on the writings of St. Faustina (+1938 and canonized on 2000 AD), this is a special Sunday of grace. There will be a special Eucharistic Holy Hour at St. Peter Parish at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. As usual, all are welcome.

 

Finally, I want to offer a word of thanks for the people who make our liturgical gatherings such a blessing: Thank you Mary Pokrywka and the choir, the Art and Environment Team, and our liturgical ministers. Your music and efforts have enriched our Holy Week and Easter celebrations.

 

And a Blessed Easter to you and your loved ones.

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In Christ,

Fr. Bob Franco

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