Greetings from Fr. Dave

Here we go into Holy Week! The theme we have been developing throughout Lent has been raising the bar on our response to God’s call in our lives. Just for a quick review, our topics have been Essential Tools for Saying YES to God, Decluttering our Lives in a Chaotic World, Radiation Therapy for Sin, Raising the Bar on Being Church, A New Kind of Christian Politics, Rooting our Lives in the Bible, and concluding this week: Wrestling with the Cross.
 
I hope and pray you have found the season to be challenging, inspiring, and fruitful! All of these homilies are archived on our website if you missed some.

 
This weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday, with our annual reading of the account of Jesus’ final hours leading to the crucifixion. As we know (and often try to ignore), the cross is the central symbol of our Christian faith. As I did the homework Fr. Hans assigned last weekend, I was struck as I read Luke’s account of the Passion at how fully Jesus experienced the full gamut of human brokenness: injustice, denial, betrayal, sadness, shame, corruption (both religious and political), abandonment. And, remarkably, he experienced all of that without bitterness, blaming, or resentment.
 
Instead, we see Jesus remaining focused on his relationship with his heavenly Father, forgiving, consoling the women along the way, praying for those perpetrating evil. And, by bringing all this to the cross, he brought about redemption and new life. As members of the Mystical Body of Christ, when we wrestle with the crosses that are a part of our lives and unite them with Jesus, we are privileged to be a part of his saving work. Don’t waste your sufferings! Offer them in union with Jesus for the salvation of the world.

• April 18: Holy Thursday – 7:00pm (includes foot-washing and procession with Eucharist)

• April 19: Good Friday
  • 3:00pm – Stations of the Cross
  • 7:00pm – Liturgy (Passion account from St. John, veneration of the cross)
• April 20: Easter Vigil – 8:00pm (includes baptisms, confirmations, and Eucharist for our RCIA candidates)
  • NOTE: no 5:30pm Vigil Mass this day
• April 21: Easter Sunday (regular Sunday Mass schedule)

SPAM ALERT: Please be aware that we and other parishes are continuing to get false emails from clergy requesting money or gift cards for emergencies. Be assured, you will never get a REAL request like that from me! Please ignore these.
 

Funeral services for parishioner Arnie Krenn are scheduled for this Monday, April 15 ^th at 11:00am, with a reception following. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace.