Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Happy Easter! It is a remarkable and even miraculous day that gathers so many here at Saint Helen and the Church Universal to celebrate the salvation won for us by Jesus’ passion and resurrection. We welcome all of you and are so very happy that we can celebrate this great victory the Lord won for us together.
Easter is also a day that brings together many family members for celebration. When I was very young, before anything else, our family went to Mass and then we returned to the house to see what the Easter Bunny had brought us. Later in the afternoon, all our extended family, who all lived locally gathered at my parent’s house in Glen Rock for a wonderful dinner. Ham. Always ham!
Later, when I was in high school, my Parish’s Youth Group at Saint Catharine played such an important role in my Lenten experience. And the church was always packed for Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Now, as your Pastor, it brings me such great joy to see our church so similarly filled on Palm Sunday and during the Triduum. Thank you for being here at St. Helen, whether you joined us in person or on-line. You are family to me and having you here truly fills my heart with great joy!
Lent is a time of sacrifice and renewal, a time when we reflect on the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ and strive to draw closer to him. We are given 40 days to sacrifice and prepare for Easter. What we do not speak as often is that the Easter Season is fifty days, and one where we focus on the renewal and the transformation the Resurrection gives. Easter actually begins at sundown on Holy Saturday, beginning with the Easter Vigil in the Night, and ends with Pentecost, when we the transformed also bear witness to the Lord.
During this Easter Season let us be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit in new ways. In each of us is the presence and grace of the Risen Christ.
Whether you are with large group of people or enjoying a quiet day at home, let us celebrate our faith and continue to build our home away from home.
Know that Saint Helen is always a place for you to come, your home, on Easter Sunday and every day throughout the year!
God Bless You All. Happy Easter!!!
Msgr. Tom
