Dear Parishioners:
“Christ is Risen! He is truly Risen!” We had a joyous and glorious celebration of Holy Week and Easter. There was much prayer and rejoicing, solemnity, and beauty as we marked the holiest time of the Church Year.
We must first give thanks to God for the blessings bestowed upon our parish at Easter! And we must thank the many people who work so hard ensuring Holy Week and Easter are so wonderful here at OLM. Our parish staff and our parish volunteers spend countless hours of dedication and devotion to seeing to every last detail of the season.
We thank Paul Anderson and our hard-working OLM Maintenance Staff who ensure our Church and physical plant are always clean and beautiful. During Holy Week they set up and broke down the Church quite a few times. I thank them for their dedication and hard work.
Our Church is always decorated so beautifully for each day of the Triduum and Easter. I thank Cecilia Franzone and the members of the OLM Decorating Committee who make the Church truly beautiful for this special season.
The music at OLM during Holy Week is always so very solemn and fitting. We thank our OLM Music Director, and Organist, Henri St. Louis, the OLM Choir, and the guest musicians who provided such beautiful music for the Sacred Triduum and Easter. As St. Augustine reminds us: “When you sing, you pray twice!” Clearly, at OLM we were both singing and praying at Easter!
We most certainly must thank our many Altar Servers who serve so well during Holy Week. They attend rehearsals, learn the ceremonies, and serve the Sacred Triduum with reverence and devotion. In particular, we thank Erik Carlson who serves as the Master of Ceremonies for Holy Week and Easter.
Our Lectors who proclaim the Word of God so well, our Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who help distribute Communion so reverently, and our Ushers who provide a warm welcome and see to the good order of Church especially with the very large crowds on Easter Sunday, all deserve our thanks and praise.
We are most especially thankful for our Franciscan Apostolic Sisters, Sister Lourdes, Sister Emma, and Sister Soledad. Through their dedication and hard work, they provide much assistance in preparing for Holy Week. They ensure all the sacred vessels are polished, all the linens ironed, all the vestments are in good order and all the details attended to with devotion. We are truly grateful for their wonderful witness to service.
I also thank Fr. Mahoney who celebrated his first Holy Week and Easter as a priest. He is a great help in organizing the many details of the Holy Week Services and more. He is a very dedicated and hardworking priest and we are truly grateful for his priestly ministry at OLM. He is also a great chef and cooked a delicious Easter Ham!
Indeed there is much to give thanks for at OLM to God. Easter at OLM was a joyful day of celebration and faith. Easter Sunday Masses were very well attended and we are grateful the pandemic is over! More people at Mass is always a great sign of hope and faith for the parish.
We congratulate our newest member of the Catholic Church, Louis William Johnston, baptized at the Easter Vigil Mass. Louis, a second-grader at OLM School, was so very excited and tremendously happy to be baptized. I ask you to continue to pray for him as he prepares to receive First Holy Communion with his class in May. We welcome Louis and offer our congratulations!
It seems we spend forty days in Lent preparing for Easter, and then celebrate Easter as if it’s a single day. But Easter isn’t just a day, it’s a season. It’s not only a celebration but an invitation to joy. Easter Sunday was just the beginning of a season of joy. Easter is a season of fifty days and ends on Pentecost Sunday. So we must continue to celebrate and rejoice in the Lord’s Resurrection. After all, the Resurrection changes everything. St. Paul reminds us: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” So rejoice during this Easter season of glory, hope, and joy! “We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song,” St. John Paul II said.
Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless! Happy Easter Season!