Dear Parishioners,
“. . . If Christ has not been raised, your
faith is vain; you are still in your sins. . . . But now Christ has been raised
from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Cor. 15: 17, 20)
I was brought to tears of joy many times this past Lent. How could I not be after seeing the powerful,
sincere confessions from penitents after ten,
twenty, thirty years or more? Thanks
be to God for His mercy and forgiveness!
During our 40 Hours
celebration, I observed devout parishioners praying before our Eucharistic Lord around the clock, day into the night. Fr.
James King preached some dynamic and inspiring homilies leaving us with
much to ponder.
These past weeks of Lent and Holy Week have given us precious
time to prepare spiritually for the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus at Easter.
Whether it was at the Soup and
Stations on Fridays, at the Communal
Penance Service (and many other opportunities for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation after the Masses), at Lectio Divina, at the Lifelong Faith
Formation event with Carrie Ann Ford
or at the services of Holy Week, I
witnessed some tremendous occasions of God’s
Grace touching lives and penetrating hearts. If you took the time to participate in these
and various other opportunities that were afforded our parish, I hope you were
as spiritually rejuvenated as I was.
Now we have reached the culmination and highpoint of our
Lenten journey—Easter Sunday. Rejoice because Christ is Risen from the Dead! As we celebrate the Easter season, please try
to keep the Resurrected Christ at the
center of your lives. This is the
central mystery of our faith and needs to be forefront in our thoughts in order
to guide our daily actions.
In times of sadness or uncertainty it is the light given us
by the Resurrected Christ that should illumine our lives and shine through the
darkness!
I thank all who work so hard and who are so generous to this
parish and help to strengthen our Christian faith community.
Be assured of my daily prayers and Masses for all members of
this parish. May I ask a continued
remembrance in your prayers and Masses as well?
Have a blessed Easter season!
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
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