Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I know I am getting ahead of myself but I just can't help it. It is exciting news. On Saturday, May 16, our Dean, Fr. Jess Ty V.F. will visit us to confer the sacrament of Confirmation on young people from our school and our family catechesis program. This is a significant event as these young people will be sealed with the strength of the Holy Spirit as well as receive Our Lord in Holy Communion for the first time. I invite you to participate in the Holy Mass that will be celebrated at 10:00am.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus are grieving the death of the one in whom they had placed all their hope. They are suffering. The death of Jesus left them doubtful. The one who would liberate them from their suffering was brutally murdered and their hearts were broken, leaving them to deal with pain and disappointment. The disciples who once had faith in Jesus the Messiah, now believe that everything they hoped for in Him has ended with the cross. It is as if their joy has been stolen.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Catholic Church continues to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection, His triumph over death, and within this Easter joy every Sunday. There is a special emphasis on God's triumph over death as we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. God's Divine Mercy is an unfathomable gift of His love for us. In his encyclical Dives in Misericordia, Saint John Paul II reminds the world that Divine Mercy is the loving manifestation of God in a history wounded by sin and that God places our miserable situation due to sin in His Fatherly heart, which is faithful to His designs. Jesus Christ, dead and risen, is the supreme manifestation and action of Divine Mercy.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Blessed Easter Sunday! Alleluia! Resurrexit Sicut Dixit: He Is Risen as He Said! Every Sunday we celebrate the reality that Jesus, Our Lord, has risen from the dead, but on Easter Sunday the Church sends a proclamation of the Risen Lord that resounds throughout the world. Beginning with the Easter Vigil, and the lighting of the Paschal Candle from the Easter fire, Christ the Light of the world shines brightly for all to see. On this night, the family of God grows as we welcome our newest Catholics into the Church. Despite the presence of violence, war, division, and death, the resurrection of the Messiah, Our Savior, brings hope and joy to the world and scatters the darkness.