Life Never Ending: Happy Easter everyone! Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed! The Church never ceases to proclaim to all the world what Christ, in his goodness, has done for you and me. Christ died on the cross to destroy our sin and he rose from the tomb so that death itself might be destroyed. St. Paul’s beautiful words ring all the more resoundingly on Easter day: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting’ (1 Cor 15:54-55).” We need not be afraid. The gates of heaven have swung open for those who believe. The grave could not hold our Savior. He is risen and we have been redeemed!
Were You There: How many times has that old spiritual hymn been sung through the years: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” We know that John and Mary Magdalene and our Blessed Mother Mary were indeed there, physically present, at the foot of the cross on Calvary hill. Sadly, though, most of the apostles had fled. In the moment of his greatest suffering (and his greatest triumph), Jesus was abandoned by all but a small number of his flock. Amazingly, you and I can be with John and Magdalene and Our Lady this very week! The liturgy is timeless. Each Mass allows us to be at the Last Supper and to be with Christ as he hangs on his cross. This is true. This is the mystery that the Eucharist invites us into. As another Lenten/Easter hymn so beautifully reminds us: “What wondrous love is this?” Please, enter fully into Christ’s love this Holy Week. Move heaven and earth to be in church for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday, the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, and the celebration of the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. Be there as Christ institutes the priesthood and the Eucharist. Be there as our Lord humbly washes the feet of his followers. Be there as he prays with agonizing fervor in the Garden of Gethsemani. Be there as Christ is arrested, mocked and scourged. Be there as Jesus is condemned by Pilate. Be there as he meets his Mother on the way to crucifixion. Be there as he forgives his persecutors. Be there as he welcomes the “good thief” into Paradise. Be there as he bows his head in death. Be there as he rises again! Please, together, let us answer the question – Were you there? – with a resounding YES! I so look forward to celebrating the days of our salvation with you.
A Truly Holy Week: The most solemn, the most important and the most truly life-changing days of the year are quickly approaching. Holy Week begins the evening of March 23rd as we celebrate Palm Sunday and begin our walk to Calvary with Christ. The Easter Triduum – Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday – follows. These days and their accompanying liturgies are transcendent moments of communion with Christ and his Church. I am asking and imploring you to move heaven and earth to be at Holy Redeemer or St. Joseph during those days. Jesus, our Savior, literally moved heaven and earth during the hours of his Last Supper, his agony in the garden, his condemnation before Pilate, his mocking and scourging, and his crucifixion. He did so because of the reckless and unfathomable love that he offers to you and to me. Please, put aside the things that are secondary and commit to the things that matter most as we gather as a Catholic Community during the Triduum. I challenge you to make a sacrifice of time. I challenge you to set aside whatever must be set aside (sports? shopping? leisure activities?) so that you and your family can be present for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper (March 28), the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord (March 29), and the great Easter Vigil (March 30). Your presence will honor God, but it will also be a visible sign of support for our catechumen and candidates as they walk their final steps into full communion with the Catholic Church. Thank you! Thank you for heeding this call! I am so excited ton celebrate this Holy Week in our Warren County Catholic Community!
Rejoice in the Lord Always: The saints tell us that joy is an infallible sign of God’s presence. Scripture tells us that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5). We know from our own experiences that joy is something greater than mere happiness. Joy is not swept away by a change of mood or by a difficult circumstance. Joy runs deep. The Church offers us a taste of God’s joy on this Laetare Sunday. The rose-colored vestments, for example, are a sign of joy. Today, in the midst of our sometimes arduous Lenten fast, we are given a glimpse of the feast that awaits. All of this doesn’t mean that we run around immune to the tragedies and pressures of our fallen world. Depression, discouragement, and even despair are painful realities in the lives of many people. Those crosses cannot be just waved away. Yet in the darkest days and the most painful moments, God is with us. We have his promise. That reality – that we are never without the Divine Assistance – is itself a cause of joy. If our suffering does not permit us to “feel” such joy, the presence of God is no less real. Is God in our midst? The answer is always - yes!