Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Happy Easter! Thank you for joining us on this special day! The traditional greeting of Christians during this season is “Christ has risen!” followed by “He has truly risen!” Today we celebrate the greatest Feast for us as Christians when we remember that God loved us so much that not only was he born at Christmas, but more importantly he died and rose again. He has conquered death, once for all, giving us the promise of eternal life. He has filled us with his never-ending love, joy and hope. At the Easter Vigil we heard, “This is the night, when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld. Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed. O wonder of your humble care for us! O love, O charity beyond all telling, to ransom a slave you gave away your Son! O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! … The sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners, drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.”
If you don’t find yourself filled with this love, joy and hope throughout the year, I invite you to take advantage of the many opportunities for prayer, study of Scripture, and formation to receive the sacraments so you can feel His love more deeply. The more we live united with the Lord, regularly attending Mass, receiving His forgiveness in the sacrament of penance/confession, we find that the challenges of this world do not rob us of our joy or peace. I hope that you consider allowing Jesus to fill you with His love through the ministries listed in this bulletin.
In Christ,
Bishop Tim Freyer