Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen!

03-31-2024Pastoral ReflectionsFr. Bob Poitras

We have completed our 40 day journey and we find ourselves looking joyfully into an empty tomb. We began our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday and find its fulfillment here, on Easter! Throughout our journey we challenged ourselves to search and find all the brokenness and weakness of our lives, all that would distract us from being true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were led this past week, Holy Week, to carry all our troubles, weakness and brokenness to the tomb with our Lord, and now we rejoice in the fact that through His death and Resurrection, he has saved us, restored us, and made us whole again.

Our Easter celebration began in a dark church and shortly thereafter our church was illuminated by the one flame of the Paschal Candle as we sang, “Christ our Light, Thanks be to God.” Christ, through His Resurrection, has brought the light of hope and dispelled the darkness of doubt and despair from our lives.

Alleluia! I hope this Easter morning has found you full of joy knowing that God loves you so much that he gives us His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins, destroying death and offering new hope, new and eternal life. For that reason we yell out Alleluia!

A special welcome to all those who are visiting us for the first time this Easter or have returned to our parish for the first time in a while. It is truly a joy and a blessing to have you here, as together we experience the great celebration of our salvation. As I look out into the congregation and see so many families filling our church, I am filled with joy that this local parish family is celebrating as one family united by Easter joy.

I hope you find your time with us warm and welcoming and I pray that you are able to call this place of prayer and worship, home. Easter is a time of great rejoicing. We have so much to be grateful to God for in our lives. Easter reminds us that God did not only create us, but more so, He mercifully, and lovingly, supports and sustains us by the sharing of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the working of the Holy Spirit. Let us rejoice then in God’s gift of salvation by being a people of love, mercy, hope and forgiveness in our homes, and in our communities. Let us make this Easter truly joyful for all those around us. May we carry the light of Christ’s Resurrection through our words and actions and illuminate all the darkness of life.

Many Blessings and Happy Easter,

Fr. Bob