Happy Easter!! 

This is the greatest of all our feasts. Jesus is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!! 

Our Easter antiphon declares “I have risen, and I am with you still, Alleluia. You have laid your hand upon me, Alleluia. Too wonderful for me, this knowledge, Alleluia, alleluia.” Easter and all its wonder should fill our hearts. New life with sin and death’s eternal hold on us is destroyed. The sadness of Good Friday seems to touch everything in this fallen world, yet there is always hope. We do touch the risen Lord in the reception of Holy Communion. God is always giving and perhaps we take that for granted. 

With fresh eyes and a simple quiet calling, the Lord has brought to us 11 people that have entered the church through baptism and confirmation. What a blessing. They now join us around the altar of sacrifice and the ambo of the Word. It is at this time that the Lord has brought them to Himself. They have been on this journey of formation the last number of months, yet for our adults this journey has finally brought them home. For many of us already in the faith, our journey can at times be up and down. We are not perfect. We know that we need grace. More recently our Lord has revealed His mercy through St. Faustina. 

Next Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday. This feast is not only about the mercy of God but it concludes the octave of Easter. This great feast of the resurrection needs 8 days to fully sink into our hearts. I encourage you to attend the Divine Mercy Celebration that is hosted at Sacred Heart in Polonia. I will be one of the six priests hearing confessions there that day. With all of us priests there, It does not allow each parish to celebrate on its own. Nonetheless what a great day to gather as the larger church so to experience the largess of God’s mercy. 

Have a blessed Easter Sunday, octave and season that allows the joy of new, resurrected life to fill your hearts. 

—Father John A. Potaczek