Pastor’s Corner — April 9th, 2023
Happy Easter!
The Resurrection of Jesus actually happened. It’s an historical fact. Let that sink in for a moment. If Jesus is alive, then he is who he says he is: He is God. Think about the ramifications. If Jesus is the Son of God, then what he says about the Father is also true, then what he says to us about who we are is true: God loves us! God is for us, not against us. And this love is stronger than sin and death! And if that’s true, then we have no real reason to be afraid in this life. Yes, there is suffering and evil in this life, but all of this pales in comparison to the love of God offered to us in our Risen Lord! The Resurrection of Jesus ensures us that His love is real and so is the prospect of living with this God of love forever in heaven.
Yet, our incredibly good Father, who reveals himself as Love, is looking for a response from us. He will not force us to love him, since that wouldn’t be love. He wants us to open our hearts and our lives to allow the truth of his victorious love to influence how we look at ourselves and the world. The response that Jesus looks for is repentance and faith. Without repentance and faith, we end up putting other things above God and worship them as gods: money, status, pleasure, and other earthbound goals. The problem, of course, is these false gods are not alive, they do not love us and they cannot save us from sin and death. Without faith in God, we have no hope.
So since God will not save us without our free response of faith and love, it’s critically important for each of us to ask ourselves this question: If Jesus is alive, then what priority is he in my life? If he’s not the top priority then I encourage you to come back to him and his Church. He’s here for you. There’s nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
May we never cease to praise our God who is victorious over death! No matter what’s happening in our lives, we can always walk in confidence and hope because each passing day in this life means we are one day closer to living with our Risen and Victorious King in eternity. Happy Easter!
Divine Mercy Sunday Service Next Sunday April 16
Next Sunday, the eighth day of the Easter octave, the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday, on which the Church honors and celebrates in a special way God’s infinite mercy toward us in Christ. On this day, the faithful can obtain a plenary indulgence, which is the complete remission of temporal punishment due to sin.
In addition to the usual conditions of a sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and a prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father, a plenary indulgence is granted to faithful who, on Divine Mercy Sunday, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin (even a venial sin) simply recite the Our Father and the Creed, and also adding a devout prayer (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!).
At 3pm next Sunday, April 16, we will be having a special Divine Mercy Prayer Service in the Church where we will hear about the life of St. Faustina, and sing the Divine Mercy Chaplet to finish our novena.
Save the Date: Special Mass for Dedication of an Altar with Bishop Boyea (May 11th)
Bishop Boyea will be coming to St Pat’s to do a special Mass with the Rite of the Dedication of an Altar on Thursday May 11th at 6pm. I’ve had the privilege of attending a couple of these and they are beautiful liturgies. This is open to the whole parish and will be a special time of celebrating the gift of the new renovation. Here is a little video posted recently by the Diocese that has some footage from the celebration of the Dedication of an Altar. I hope to see you there!
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias