From the Pastor – Easter Sunday
From the Pastor – Easter Sunday
One of the recommended responsorial psalms of this glorious Easter Sunday is Psalm 118, including this from verse 24: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” In truth Easter is all about rejoicing. It is the day of Resurrection which provides hope to all of us.
Throughout our Diocese thousands of people are at Mass today who may not normally attend. Recent studies have shown that as many as 40 percent of those who do not regularly attend may not have been at Mass since Christmas.
That is another reason for us to rejoice and say “Welcome home.” We miss you and we love you. Christ’s love for us is at the foundation of our celebration today. St. Augustine once wrote, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” We ask God’s blessings on all those who have passed our amazing religion to you. Clearly you do remember your devotion and are here to honor it.
Our Catholic Church considers today to be the holiest day of the year. For us as Catholics this celebrates one of the greatest days in history — when Jesus, the Son of God, defeated death and rose from the grave giving us all hope for eternal life. St. Pope John Paul II may have put it best several years ago when he proclaimed, “Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
Pastoral Pondering
During these weeks leading up to Easter, we have been discussing different aspects of reverence; for silence, for the church, for the Word, and for the Eucharist. As we celebrate Easter, it is a good opportunity to ponder our reverence for one another. Jesus tells us that “where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20).
Easter, as was noted above, often involves lots of visitors which also means lots of traffic and other inconveniences. Nonetheless, we have to remember that Christ wants to shine through each one of us, so that we can be a light to someone else. When we gather as the Body of Christ in the Church, we give witness to His victory over sin and death. We give praise to the Father who sent His Son to save us. And we give witness to a world that so very often needs to hear the Good News of the Gospel.
On behalf of Father Becker, Father Carter, our deacons and our lay staff, I wish each of you a very Happy Easter! May the Lord bless you abundantly, and may the Risen Christ be your joy and your crown.