Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
In the Jubilee year 2000, Sunday at the Mass of canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska Pope Saint John Paul II declared the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday In the giving of this designation Saint John Paul was asking the church to live Easter faith through the essence of mercy. Just one year later the terrorist attacks of September 11th set in motion a world bent on a violence that we never would have anticipated. Unfortunately, we still live in a world caught up in brutality, war, and terror. How do we cultivate mercy when our natural anger seeks revenge or at the very least retribution for pain that has been inflicted?
Pope John Paul II answered that question through his faith in action when he forgave the man who attempted to assassinate him. The now famous picture of the Pope sitting in a prison cell holding the hand of his attempted assassin was not simply an example of human mercy but divine mercy. It is only through prayer and the deepening of one’s relationship with Christ that mercy begins to feel right and good.
The resurrected Christ enters the upper room in today’s gospel he bestows the gift of peace on his shaken disciples. Through our prayer, we seek to be in that same upper room with Christ who is mercy himself. We seek Christ’s gift of peace so that we can cultivate that kind of mercy in our hearts. No one of us wants to perpetuate pain yet it is so difficult to dispense mercy without a deepening of our awareness of the divine mercy of God who so loved the world he gave his only Son.
MORE EASTER THANK YOU’S – At the Easter Vigil, I expressed my thanks to the staff and ministries that worked so hard to allow us to celebrate Holy Week so well. It is important to also acknowledge the faithful participation of all of you. The beauty of these liturgies was most evident in the faith professed by the those whose prayer and worship unified us. Nearly 5,000 people joined us for Easter Masses. We also had the opportunity to witness nine people entering the church through baptism and confirmation and another 2 received the Sacrament of Confirmation. I also thank you for your financial generosity which enables us to continue the good work of our parish.
75th ANNIVERSARY PLANNING – Shortly before Holy Week we had a well-attended meeting of parishioners to discuss our upcoming Jubilee Year celebration. At the meeting we spent time looking back on our history, offered input on how we see ourselves today, and then began to imagine what our yearlong celebration will look like. The discussion was fruitful, but we want to continue to receive further input from the greater parish. I invite you to go to a questionnaire that is modeled on our discussion. The questionnaire can be found here bit.ly/SROL75-ideas
LECTOR AND EXTRAORDINARY MINISTER OF THE HOLY EUCHARISTIC TRAINING – Please see the full-page information sheet in today’s bulletin detailing the upcoming training sessions. Our parish is very much in need of new liturgical ministers. Your availability to serve in these ministries will be considered. Please consider assisting our growing parish community and its celebration of Holy Mass.
JOB POSTING – Our parish is seeking to hire a Business Manager for the parish and school. Candidates with a College degree or appropriate certifications and experience in accounting, bookkeeping and payroll management or equivalent experience are preferred. The full posting and application information can be found at https://tinyurl.com/SROL-JOBS
Peace!
