April 5, 2020 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord April 12, 2020 Our Lady of Grace and Saint Bernard Parish FATHER DAVE’S DESK Happy Easter! One of my favorite secular stories about Easter comes from an exchange between a father and his three year old daughter. A few weeks before Easter, her daddy took her to the mall for a new pair of shoes. As they walked through the mall, she said, “Daddy, I can’t wait for Easter!” Her dad responded, “But honey, do you know what Easter means?” The lile girl replied, “Yes.” “What does Easter mean?” said the father. In her own sweet way with a beaming smile on her face and at the top of the voice, she said, “Surprise!” What a powerful word to capture the mystery we celebrate today, “surprise!” Surprise death! Surprise sin! Surprise suffering! Surprise mourning disciples! Surprise humanity! Jesus is alive! He is risen! The gospel today, from John 20:1R9 is something you might want to read as Grace before your Easter meal. What a sur- prise it was for Mary of Magdalene to see that the stone had been removed from the tomb. The “other disciple” arrives at the tomb and sees the burial cloths but does not enter. Simon Peter then arrives and enters the tomb and sees the burial cloths but not Jesus. What a surprise! As the story unfolds they will come to know and understand that what suffering and death did to Jesus is nothing compared to what he did to it. Normally it would be our custom to celebrate this Good News by coming to church to celebrate Holy Mass together. We would rejoice in the Easter light found in the newly blessed paschal candle. We would be blessed with the Easter water and celebrate the bapsm of people into the faith. And we ourselves would renew our own bapsm in which we re- nounced sin and professed faith. And, most of all, upon hearing the Good News we would receive our Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and then go home to celebrate with family and friends throughout the Octave and into the Easter season. But as you know this is not a normal me. The shock of the Coronavirus Pandemic has riveted the enre world and put so many of our lives and livelihoods on hold. What typically is a me to come together finds us all in a forced retreat from the world. “Easter is a shot in the arm that engenders a new excitement and vigor for the faith.” Let’s go back to the gospel. That first Easter was not about crowds but about a handful of people with strong faith. They saw and believed. My brothers and sisters, we cannot allow the shock of the Pandemic to douse the surprise of Easter. We cannot allow fear to win out over faith. There is a commonly used phrase uered frequently at this me, namely, “Easter Faith.” While we may all in some way feel so helpless and hopeless, we need to exude “Easter Faith.” This is a faith that trusts that suffering and death does not have the last word. Easter reminds us that the final word is “Life.” Even though we are unable to see this “life” of grace in our churches right now due to the Pandemic, God connues to work in each and every one of us. What this Pandemic has done is that it has brought us back to “the first Church” which is the family. This is a me for us to pray together with our family and for our family. We need to do this with Easter Faith. April 5, 2020 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord I don’t know about you but I always find myself feeling two emoons on Easter. First, every Easter as a priest I have always felt redness. The rigors of Lent, the emoons of Holy Thursday and Good Friday along with the deafening silence of Holy Saturday are exhausng. I think we all feel a certain weariness this Easter given the fact that our lives and lifestyles have temporarily changed. We have found ourselves greatly restricted and limited. Some of us have even been in quaranne. Someone said that this has probably been one of “the Lenest of Lents.” The good news is that Jesus invites us to come to him in our weariness. He promises us rest and peace. I invite you this Easter to give your weariness to him and let him refresh you. The second emoon I always feel on Easter is a profound sense of spiritual renewal in faith. Easter is a shot in the arm that engenders a new excitement and vigor for the faith. I hope you feel some of that this Easter. Wherever you are in your relaonship with Jesus and his Church, this is a moment to begin anew. In these weeks we have watched as many things we have taken for granted have been taken away from us. One thing no one can take away from us is our faith in Jesus Christ. As the old pop song goes, “Don’t stop believing!” Believe all the more. As your pastor and with my brother clergy and staff I want to say how much we believe in you the faithful of the grouping. Even though our Church and office is closed you connue to support your church. It is humbling to all of us. Some of you have mailed your envelopes. Some have le home to drop them off in the mail slot. And some have jumped on to online giving. We are so grateful for your generous support. Please know that we are trying our best to keep things together. While we have had to temporarily lay off some of our staff, we connue to pursue all of the possibilies with the recent legislaon that passed. We are also working with the Diocese on many levels to be fiscally prudent and responsible. And yet, through it all our staff connues to work to the best of their ability whether from here or from home. I am sure that you join me in thanking them for their faithful service. As you sit down with your family this Easter, know that Father Ben, Father Tom, Father Mark and Deacon Fred are with you in spirit. Our prayer for you is not only Easter Faith, but also Easter Joy, Easter Peace and Easter Health. Thanks for accom- panying us through this dark me, especially our quaranne. We are forever grateful and we will never forget! God bless you! Happy Easter! And remember, don’t let the shock of the Pandemic diminish the surprise of Easter. MASS INTENTIONS Our LadyFOR ofTHE Grace WEEK and SaintOF APRIL Bernard 12, Parish 2020 EASTER SUNDAY Mass intentions will be fulfilled by one of our priests during multiple private Masses. As of the printing of this bulletin, live stream Masses have been suspended due to clergy quarantine. Sunday, April 12 Wednesday, April 15 Friday, April 17 Sunday, April 19 EASTER SUNDAY Absalon Guillen Stephen Luteran Eva Peduto For All People of the Grouping Gerard & Mary Hungerman Domineco Varrati Deceased Members of the Edwards & Reichert Families Monday, April 13 Michael R. Graziano Thursday, April 16 Saturday, April 18 For All People of the Grouping George Fichter Paul R. Carapellotti Ro & Jim Butler Filomena DiBattista Theresa Pisani Jane & Jim Famularo John & Mary Branish Tuesday, April 14 Michael Petriga Mary & Mike Taccino Walt & Patricia Burke Helen Fryske Ronald Morris April 19, 2020 Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday of Divine Mercy) Acts 2:4247 * 1 Pt 1:39 * Jn 20: 1931 943) Religious Education News There will be no more on site CCD classes this year. Make up work is on the website. Students in grades 2 and 8 will be sent sacrament prep lessons after Easter. Spiritually Adopt a Student Preparing for Confirmation or First Communion! As our Confirmation Candidates and some of our First Communicants are having to wait longer to receive their sacraments, we ask that parishioners spiritually adopt a student to pray for them during this wait. Please email Darcy at [email protected] to receive the first name of a student to pray for! Service Project: Children can create artwork to cheer up nursing home residents who cannot have visitors and programming right now. Please take a photo of the artwork and email it to [email protected]. Do not include your children’s faces in the photo. Thank you for helping to spread the love of Jesus and the prayers of our parish. Online Resources: Check out our website for videos and resources for your domestic church during this time at home! CCD Online MakeUp Work M posted on our website under “Children” then “At Home CCD Documents” Parish Code: D2DRDQ April 5, 2020 “Order your soul; reduce your wants; live in Palm charity; Sunday associate of the Passion in Chrisan of the Lord community; obey the laws; trust in Providence.” St Augusne In this very unseling me, we find ourselves living in an unprecedented way. It might be easiest to hunker down in our homes with our families, and there is of course a need to be prudent about our contact and me with others, but what is the Lord calling us to do? St Augusne tells us in this quote to “order your soul.” We should begin in prayer. Individuals, couples and families can pray each day for those who are ill, those who are caring for them and all in our community struggling during this difficult me.