Pastor's Corner

Here’s a wonderful Eucharistic Story that might bring back memories for you as Ellen Hansbury shares her experiences attending weekly Mass as a young person, then as a mom and now that her children are grown.

“When I was a little girl, I loved going to 8:00am Mass with my dad. We would go to St. Peter’s in Lowell. The Mass was usually in the basement, not the fancy upstairs, so I got to wear my play clothes! We would listen to the word of God, sing the hymns loudly, hold hands, and then head home for a wonderful breakfast.

Today, Divine Mercy Sunday, ends the Octave of Easter. The Church celebrates our Lord’s Resurrection not just on one day, but it continues for eight days, hence the description, the Octave of Easter. Each day of the Octave is ranked as a Solemnity in the Church’s liturgical calendar, the highest ranking of liturgical feasts. The idea of an Octave of a great feast has its roots in the Old Testament where many Jewish feasts lasted for eight days.

Happy Easter!

On this day, we celebrate the amazing truth that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is alive! What kind of response should we offer to Him for such a gift that He has given to us? Here’s a suggestion: “At the sight of the Lord, the disciples rejoiced. Peace be with you, he said again.” Jn.20:20.

This weekend is Palm/Passion Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. I invite you to consider bringing you children or grandchildren not only to Easter Mass, but also to some of the other liturgies of this very special week. On Tuesday, we’ll be introducing our parish community to a lesser known service in Holy Week called Tenebrae. It’s a short service of readings and music that highlight the moments that led up to Jesus’ suffering and death.

I share with you a beautiful reflection on this Sunday’s Gospel about people who were looking to see Jesus. It was written by Betty-Ann Medeiros Hickey from Most Holy Trinity Parish, Covington, LA and published in NPM Sunday Word.

“I remember being a young child always struggling to see over the adults around me. No matter how much I stretched, someone would always move and block my view. In today’s Gospel, the Greeks ask to see Jesus. They had probably heard stories about his preaching, teaching, and healing and they wanted to experience it for themselves. They wanted an up front and close experience that would confirm the truth of all they had heard.

As we reach the mid-point of Lent on this Laetare “Rejoice” Sunday, it’s good for us to assess how we are doing during this season of repentance to address the sinful thoughts, words and actions we’re hoping to change – both things we’ve done and those we’ve failed to do. I hope you’ve made some inroads even though those areas may still be “works in progress.” Improvement, even if incremental, is encouraging and expresses to God your desire to grow spiritually.

Fast from judging others ● Feast on seeing Christ within them.
Fast from emphasis on differences. ● Feast on the unity of life.
Fast from thoughts of illness ● Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute ● Feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent ● Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger ● Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism ● Feast on optimism.
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