The glory of the Lord, Jesus Christ, has broken through the darkness of death and has renewed the face of the earth. Be assured the Lord who loves us will break through the darkness that we and the world are now experiencing.
It is important to be hopeful and wait with patient endurance. Hold firm to the faith and trust in the Lord. Remember how the apostles and followers of Jesus scattered when he was arrested and crucified. They went into hiding for fear of their lives. We, too, seem to be in hiding for fear of our lives!
Remember the words of the Risen Savior, to his disciples in the upper room, “On the evening of that first day of the week, even though the disciples had locked the doors of the place where they were out of fear, Jesus came and stood before them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. At the sight of the Lord, the disciples rejoiced. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said again. (Gospel of John 20:19-21) Let us open the doors of our heart and let in the peace, love, grace, hope, and strength of the Risen Lord. Lift up your hearts and heads and know that the Lord is here. He is walking with us through this time of testing and pain. He loves us and died for us, and was raised up for our salvation.
“Brothers and Sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)
Brothers and Sisters, let us not forget that we are children of God and brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ, and one another. We are people of hope, people of love, people of the truth, people of the light, and people of life.
God bless you and your loved ones.
All our love & prayers,
Your brother Priests, Deacon, & Parish Staff