March 23, 2008
Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of the Lord

Thoughts from

Dear Fellow Believers in the Resurrection of Jesus

First of all, we welcome all of you who come to celebrate our belief that Jesus was raised from the dead by his God and Father.

In the Sacrament of our Baptism, the Catholic Church handed that belief and promise of resurrection to each of us who were baptized.

In a special way, we return to the font of our Baptism each Holy Saturday night and Easter Day when we renew the promises of our Baptism and are sprinkled with the blessed Holy Water of the Easter Season.

Families and friends gather for Easter as a holiday and as a family tradition, and I would like to suggest three other important reasons.

The Paschal Mystery: We gather as Roman Catholic Christians to celebrate the Paschal Mystery which is the central doctrine of Christian faith. The word “Paschal,” from Hebrew, denotes God’s life and protection passing over us to save and protect us from death both spiritual and physical. The Old Testament roots of our faith displayed that passing over and gift of salvation through animal sacrifices in the Temple at Jerusalem. In the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, God showed us a new way: The way we Passover is by being our truest self, faithful to God by a life of generous service and doing good. The gift of the Resurrection is God’s reward and promise. Actually, it was God’s destiny for us always, from the beginning.

The Empty Tomb: One of the great symbols of Easter is the empty tomb. By itself, an empty tomb or grave proves nothing. However, it does remind us that life is not there and that our truest self does not end in the grave. We did not know that we had a “truest self” until Jesus told that there was more to us than we could see or feel.

The Sacraments: From the very beginning of the Church’s life as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, the followers of Jesus gathered to break the new bread that Jesus left them and to encourage one another to follow the “New Way”. Those who heard the message that Jesus had died and rose, from those who had seen him, were brought to the waters of new life to be baptized and to the Eucharist to eat and meet the risen Lord. It is our great privilege to do the same today.

That is why Easter is more than just coming to Church. Easter points a way to a new life. We are here to share the New Life with you. We welcome you to become a part of the New Way, a new life with God leading the Way. Our bulletin today is a message of encouragement describing how we can help you and how you can help yourself. Come and join in really celebrating Easter as a way of life.

May this Easter be a turning point for you!

Fr. Richard A. Mangini

Upcoming Events

April

New parish website

April 19

Tool Time III for Women "SPA Day". Featuring Reverend Patrick Crowley, SS.PC. 8:00 am - 3:00 pm, St. Bonaventure Large Hall. Questions? Call Kathy at 672-4477.

September 19-21

Women's Retreat at San Damiano.

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