Happy Sunday!

As we continue the Easter season our parish prepares for our First Communion and Confirmation Mass this coming Saturday, April 25th. I am so grateful to Cathy Carlsen and her team in their preparations for this wonderful event. Of course it is not just an event, but has been two years of preparations, especially through Sunday Mass and catechism classes. We will also have some adults receiving their Sacraments this Saturday. Please keep candidates in prayer as they prepare for this special day.

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

Today is the last day of the Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday. St. John Paul II instituted this feast in 2000 at the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska. Her diary, "Divine Mercy in My Soul" recounts her personal experiences of Jesus in prayer and his invitation to her to promote His mercy. She was given, by Jesus, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to be spread throughout the world to encourage souls to trust in the mercy of God.

Our Collect prayer at the beginning of the Easter Mass prays thus, "O God, who on this day, through your Only Begotten Son, have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity ... " The Easter celebration is a celebration of life and the victory over death. In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul famously wrote, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."