The Lord is Risen! Alleluia!!!!

My Dear Parishioners,

The Lord is Risen! Alleluia!!!!

And so Happy Easter to all! Celebrate! And Celebrate we should, as we are celebrating the most important discovery in the history of the world: the discovery of the Empty Tomb!

It is good to see everyone gathered here in church to celebrate the Resurrection and to see everyone in their Easter

outfits, with big smiles on everyone’s faces.

I am certain that the celebration will continue throughout the day. It will continue as our young children and grandchildren dig into their Easter baskets. It will continue as we gather with family and friends for our Easter dinners.

As for my Easter dinner, I will be with my own family. We traditionally have ham for Easter with the obligatory potatoes and all of the fixings.

Yes, we are planning on playing pinochle again after dinner. It is a family tradition for us and one for which I always look forward. Being together and playing cards after dinner reminds me of “the good old days” and of so many family and friends who are no longer with us. While I do miss them, I have great hope that one day I will see them again, because of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the dead.

For us Christians, the most important event in the history of the world is the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be Praise and Glory forever and forever! Which makes the most important discovery in the history of the world the Empty Tomb.

The Empty Tomb is proof of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and so proof that the Gates of Heaven were thrown open through the power of His Holy Cross. The Empty Tomb is then our greatest proof that Heaven is real and that we can reach Heaven through, with, and in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

St. Paul teaches: Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. ForI handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles…….But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the first fruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (1 Corinthians: 15: 1-7; 20-25).

And then the Saints rejoice this truth: Christ is risen! He has burst open the gates of hell and let the dead go free; he has renewed the earth through the members of his Church now born again in baptism and has made it blossom afresh with men brought back to life. His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of heaven, which stand wide open to receive those who rise up from the earth.

Because of Christ’s resurrection the thief ascends to paradise, the bodies of the blessed enter the holy city, and the dead are restored to the company of the living. There is an upward movement in the whole of creation, each element raising itself to something higher. We see hell restoring its victims to the upper regions, earth sending its buried dead to heaven, and heaven presenting the new arrivals to the Lord. In one and the same movement, our Savior’s passion raises men from the depths, lifts them up from the earth, and sets them in the heights.

Christ is risen! His rising brings life to the dead, forgiveness to sinners, and glory to the saints. And so David the prophet summons all creation to join in celebrating the Easter festival: Rejoice and be glad, he cries, on this day which the Lord has made! (St. Maximus of Turin, Bishop and Father of the Church).

And Christ’s resurrection is the strength, the secret of Christianity. It is not a question of mythology or of mere symbolism, but of a concrete event. It is confirmed by sure and convincing proofs. The acceptance of this truth, although the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s grace, rests at the same time on a solid historical base. On the threshold of the third millennium, the new effort of evangelization can begin only from a renewed experience of this Mystery, accepted in faith and witnessed to in life. — St. John Paul II.

What a great consolation! We, and our families and friends, can have life, and life to the fullest, in our Crucified and Resurrected Savior!

Many observe the good practice of taking Easter Water home and blessing their homes with it. While sprinkling our homes, we can begin with a prayer similar to this:

May God bless this house from top to bottom,

May He bless each lintel, each stone, each brick and each beam of wood,

May He bless the household and the table on which we place food May He bless each bedroom in which we seek a peaceful sleep, May He bless the door we open generously to the stranger and the meek – as well as to our relatives and friends.

May He bless the windows through which come the bright beams, of sunlight, moon and stars.

May He bless the rafters above our head and each strong wall surrounding us,

May peace love and affection dwell herein and flow towards our neighbors.

May God bless this gathering and keep us from danger,

And May He guide us all together to his Heavenly sanctuary. Amen.

On behalf of Deacon Frank and our staff, may I offer you and your families a very sincere Happy Easter!

St. Joseph, Patron of the Church and our Patron, pray for us!

St. Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles, pray for us!

Fr. Michael J. Pawelko, Pastor