Dear Parishioners,

This Fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally celebrated as Good Shepherd Sunday, a day when the Church invites us to reflect more deeply on the tender and faithful care of Christ for His people. Throughout the Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament, we encounter the powerful image of the shepherd: one who watches attentively over the flock, leading them to safety, nourishing them, protecting them from harm, and never abandoning them in times of danger or need.

Dear Parishioners,

Happy Easter! As we continue our journey through this joyful season, we are invited to draw ever more deeply into the wellspring of God’s mercy and love. After the forty days of Lent, it can be tempting to slip back into old routines once Easter Sunday has passed. But this is not what the Lord desires for us.

Dear Parishioners,

We are now in the heart of the fifty days of Easter, a season of joy in which we celebrate God’s love revealed in and through the Cross and made radiant in the empty tomb at the Altar. This is our great proclamation: Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death and draws each of us into new life.

Easter greetings and blessings to all who have joined us for the celebration of Mass on this glorious Easter Sunday. We pray that your hearts are filled with the joy and peace that comes only from the Risen Lord.

For forty days we journeyed through Lent, allowing the Lord to prepare us for these great Fifty Days of Easter. Along the way, we fixed our gaze on the Cross, learning again that God’s love is revealed most fully in sacrifice.

Dear Parishioners,

Palm Sunday is always a special day for us as Catholics. There is something deeply moving about receiving palm branches and waving them high as we sing, “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna on high.” In that moment, we enter the mystery of Holy Week and prepare our hearts for Easter.

Dear Parishioners,

As we enter the Fifth Week of Lent, our journey toward Easter continues to deepen. These weeks have offered many graces and opportunities to grow in our relationship with Jesus and with His Church. Through the Hallow App’s Lenten prayer challenge, The Return, many of us have been praying the simple yet powerful words: “Empty me, fill me, use me.” These prayers invite us to open our hearts more fully to God’s transforming presence.

Dear Parishioners,

We are grateful for the beautiful week we shared with the Dominican Friars from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, often called the Angelicum. Their preaching and witness during our Parish Lenten Mission were a true blessing. I hope their words helped lead you deeper into the mystery of God’s love for you and in turn, inspire a deeper love for Him.

Dear Parishioners,

This weekend we celebrate the Third Sunday of Lent. We continue moving toward Easter, in and through the Cross, remembering that this is truly a ninety-day journey of Lent and Easter together. We keep our hearts open to the love revealed on the Cross and fulfilled in the Empty Tomb. Christ lives, and He continues to pour out His love, forgiveness, and mercy into our lives.

Dear Parishioners,

This year I invite us to make a conscious decision to live Lent and Easter as one great 90-day journey: forty days of Lent flowing into fifty days of Easter. The Cross only makes full sense in the light of Easter. Without the Resurrection, the Cross would seem like defeat. But because Christ is risen, His love in and through the Cross becomes our hope, our confidence, and our new life.

Dear Parishioners,

We have begun our Lenten journey with the theme: Love In and Through the Cross. My hope for each of us is simple, that during these sacred days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we will come to know more deeply how much God loves us.

This weekend's Gospel brings us into the desert with Jesus as He faces temptation. We see that His strength comes from His closeness to the Father. The same is true for us. Temptations are part of every human life, and they always will be. But even greater than temptation is God's powerful grace. We can be confident in His Word, which protects, guides, and saves us.

Dear Parishioners,

This Sunday brings us to the threshold of Lent, a sacred season when the Church invites us to return more deeply to the heart of God. Ash Wednesday is this coming week, February 18th, and I invite you to join us for one of our four Masses with the distribution of ashes. As we begin this holy season together, you will find a special bulletin insert outlining many opportunities for deeper prayer, reflection, study, and community, all meant to help you grow in your relationship with the Lord.

Dear Parishioners,

In this week's Gospel, Jesus proclaims a powerful truth to His disciples, and to us: "You are the salt of the earth ... You are the light of the world." These familiar images are not compliments; they are a calling. Salt gives flavor and preserves what is good. Light brings clarity, direction, and hope. Notice that Jesus does not say, "You should become salt and light," but "You are." This is our identity as His disciples.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your generous response to our Mission Engagement program.

As Christians, we are all called to imitate Christ, proclaiming the Gospel with words and actions so that the world may come to know and love Christ.