Dear Parishioners,

On behalf of Deacon Pat & Joan Berigan and our Principal, Mrs. Denise Burns, I want to extend to all parishioners and to all visitors our prayers and wishes for a Happy Easter. Once again we must not allow the secular images of Easter bunny’s and baskets trivialize the enormous impact that the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus have had and will have on our world. The news of Christ’s rising from the dead is anything but trivial. It is momentous. Even though so many in our world, including those baptized, do not understand or rightly appreciate this, we must be constantly awakened to the importance of this event. Without God’s intervention, we would be lost in our sins. We would be doomed to a life (here and hereafter) where we are stuck on ourselves, forever lost to suffer the consequences of our sinful and selfish behavior. But because God is rich in mercy and desires to save those he has created from themselves, God planned to send his Son to us for He alone can save us and restore us to a right relationship. We were not deserving of this great gift. It is purely because of God’s gratuitous love that such a “second chance” has been extended to us. This is our reason for rejoicing today with Alleluias that will be heard in our worship as we extend our Easter Day into the weeks ahead. Let us rejoice. Let us give thanks. Let us humbly accept the gift that is offered to us today.

Before leaving for Italy, I was able to anoint Walter Sheroke, the father of parishioner Jean Pastor, who died on March 20th at the age of 91. We extend our sympathy to Jean and I am grateful to Fr. Rob Ramser who was able to celebrate his funeral Mass in my absence. May Walter and all those who have died from our parish rest now in the peace of the Risen Christ.

I am grateful for your prayers for myself & those who went on pilgrimage with me to Italy last month. We were blessed with a fantastic tour guide, sunny weather which was generally between 65 & 70 degrees, and of course, lots of pasta to give us energy on our walking tours. Though I have been to most of the places we visited before (except for Padua), I am always learning new things and growing in my appreciation for the Church’s history and the depths of our Catholic tradition. I especially enjoyed celebrating Mass in the places where so many others have celebrated the Eucharist before us over 20 centuries, such as in the basilica of St. Mary Major, in the catacombs where many saints and martyrs had been buried, and even at the Tomb of St. Peter in the basilica which bears his name as well as his bones. There was so much to see and experience and enjoy. We were present at the Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square where we saw Pope Francis and received his blessing on the religious articles that we purchased. It was a surprise to learn that he entered the hospital with a lung infection shortly after we saw him. Personally I think he got it from the baby that he kissed from the crowd but I don’t want to point fingers. I’m just glad he arrived home safely as we did. And yes, I’m already beginning to plan a trip back there next year, but this time going more south in Italy (besides Rome of course) so stay tuned for more information about that later this year.

I was able to offer Mass again for my Mom, Dad & Mildred as well as other parishioners and friends whom I continue to miss. But we know they are praying for us as well. We prayed for you too and thank you again for your thoughts of us while away from home. There is much that I hope to be able to share with you in the weeks & months ahead which were gleaned from this trip. But for now, let us all give thanks to God on this Easter Day for the great gift of new life that he has offered to us in Christ.

Fr. James Schmitz