Dear friends,
Above is the marker for the Alleluias that were buried at the beginning of Lent in our parish courtyard by our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd students. How I look forward to the day when we can be together again, and when they can unearth their Alleluias! The church is very quiet without all of you. What I wouldn't give just to hear a crying baby. :-)
Below are some close-ups of our Paschal Candle which was lit for the first time at the Easter Vigil last night.
One angel, weeping, points to the crown of thorns beneath the cross. Surely many of you can identify with the crown of thorns during this Easter. While I know that many of you have been watching our live-streamed liturgies and appreciate them, there is still the separation that this pandemic has brought in so many ways, including not being able to attend Mass in person and receive Christ in Holy Communion.
The other angel points to the crown of gold above the cross, signifying that, perhaps, while acknowledging the reality of our suffering individually and collectively, we should nevertheless look with hope and even joy to the glory that Christ has gained for us through his passion, death, and resurrection.
As Fr. Thomas said in his homily today, the death and resurrection of Christ has changed the meaning of our suffering--we can see it as a calamity (a kind of meaningless suffering that we simply complain about) or as a cross (suffering united to the suffering of Christ himself, which unites us to the one who has overcome sin and death). I pray that your sufferings, united to the cross of Christ, will point you in hope and even joy to the crown of glory that awaits you.
All of your Dominican friars pray that today, on this Easter Sunday, you will know this hope and this joy of Christ, risen from the dead!
Peace,
Fr. Stephen, O.P.