Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, More and More Easter Graces! Congratulations to Sarah Mackiewicz. This Sunday she is being received into the Catholic Church through the Profession of Faith, and completing the sacraments of initiation of Confirmation and reception of Holy Communion. Be sure to welcome her fittingly and continue to pray that God bring to completion the good work He has begun in her. This is a good time for all of us to reflect and thank God for the sacramental graces we have received. May we all engage and enact those graces in our lives.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, May Easter Graces Spur Us Onward! Having prepared well in Lent and now continuing to celebrate well the Lord’s Resurrection, we are encouraged onward. There is much coming up in next couple months.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, He IS RISEN! Alleluia! Happy Easter! I know I say it every year, but don’t be afraid to continue greeting people with “Happy Easter!” or “Christ is Risen!” Easter is 50 days long! The truth of the Resurrection must continue to be impressed upon our hearts and minds.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, He IS RISEN! Alleluia! Happy Easter! May God’s blessings be upon you, your families, our parish, and the whole Church throughout the world! My prayer for you all is that the difficulties and struggles that you have united to Christ’s sacrifice may become deeper blessings that lead to salvation. Hopefully you made the time to go to Confession and participate in the liturgical “desert” of Lent. Now we rejoice for St. Paul says, you were buried with Christ so that you might live with Him. And so the Gloria, the Alleluia, the organ, the flowers, and decorations all return showing us the abundance of God’s grace in our lives.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Blessed Palm Sunday Today is Palm Sunday or also referred to as the second Sunday of Passiontide. The joy of Easter is almost here, but we have to first accompany our Blessed Lord in His Passion. We have marked this time by covering statues and images that leads us into today’s commemorating of the Lord’s arrival in Jerusalem as we bless and process with palms. Then we have the reading of the Passion Narrative from Matthew’s Gospel. This even more somber time invites us to walk with Jesus and carry the Cross with Him. This is not a time to make ourselves artificially depressed, but to embrace a somber solemnity and even more reverent silence. There will not be any organ and only simpler chants for Mass.