Jesus’s appearance to two Believers on the Road to Emmaus (24:13-35)

Kathy From our Pastor

My dear friends, this is a special Easter season. Every Sunday in this season is special. It is a season of resurrection, new life and new hope. During this special Easter season of grace, we not only celebrate that Jesus is risen and he is with us, but we also celebrate that Jesus gives Himself to us, the Bread of Life.

 It has been more than a month we started our fight again Covid-19. Due to this Virus everyone of us is affected and everyone of us is struggling. We are unsure of our future life. There are so many concerns about what is to come. As disciples of Christ, the biggest thing that we face at present is, we are unable to congregate to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. We are unable to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. We are unable to adore the Most Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is sad and depressing.

During this unprecedented time the 3rd Sunday of Easter Scripture readings give us one common, encouraging message:  No matter what happens in our lives, the risen Jesus is always with us. God is always near to those who seek Him, hope in Him and who want to live in His presence.

 The first sermon ever preached after Pentecost was preached by Peter. He focused on the proof of the resurrection. He quotes the prophecy of David concerning Jesus. “For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

Jesus experienced God’s constant presence and power. Jesus’s body lived in hope. In the gospel, we hear about two disciples who were disturbed about the incidents that happened around them. Jesus appears to them and grants them faith, hope and encouragement. Their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus at the breaking of the bread.

The same God who raised Jesus from the dead will help us to overcome this unprecedented time. God is our hope and our strength. Let us not lose our hope in God, let us be strong in faith and continue to pray for each other and for the whole world.

 Stay safe & stay home.

 In Christ Jesus,

Fr. Kishore Babu Battu SAC 

 

Easter Prayers of the Faithful

Kathy Uncategorized
  • For health care workers who are selflessly treating coronavirus patients during this epidemic, may God grant them fortitude and deliver them safely at the end of each day, let us pray to the Lord.
  • For civic and health care leaders who are coordinating responses to the crisis, may God give them wisdom, strength and compassion, let us pray to the Lord.
  • For those infected with or recovering from the coronavirus, may Jesus, the Divine Physician, offer them hope and provide healing, let us pray to the Lord.
  • For those who have died from the coronavirus, may they know the peace and joy of God’s love through all eternity, let us pray to the Lord.
  • For those who face economic uncertainty because of the pandemic, may God graciously look upon their needs and bring them relief and peace, let us pray to the Lord.

Blessings of Peace and Joy during this Easter Season!

Kathy Uncategorized

We all walked the Lenten journey, not the way we thought we would but definitely in a different way. We have now entered the Easter Season and we are called to celebrate the Risen Lord. Wishing you a Joyous Easter and may our Risen Lord continue to walk with us in this journey he has called us to.

The toughest journey began when the Archdiocese of Detroit announced on March 13th that all the Masses will be suspended beginning the weekend of March 14th onwards, and we are still in that journey of grasping how this all started. Country after country have closed educational institutes, businesses, cancelled sports and the Olympics, the Catholic Church had to cancel all its planned Lenten programs and Masses including the Holy Week services and Easter Celebrations. And we all hope that the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order will end soon.

What have we learned from all this? So many messages on Coronavirus have been going viral. This is one of the messages I received and probably some of you have received it and read it as well. “40 days, 40 nights in the Ark, Noah’s family was confined in a boat. There were no windows, no balconies, no internet, no phone, no TV, no YouTube, no Facebook. They spent their time praying and loving each other. God the Father took care of them as Noah was a man of faith and obeyed His word.”

Even though there is an ocean of viruses out there and life seems like a stormy ride, we need to remember that Our God is watching over us!  “Do not be afraid!” That is the Easter message. Let us continue to be faithful to Him and wait patiently. When this is over we will be able to see the  rainbow shine, and then we will know that we truly walked “Out of darkness… into light.”

In our own mind or through someone else we probably have heard it said that God is teaching us something. Probably he wants to win his love back. Surely, we have prayed more and extra during these lock down days. We have had more time with our family, found creative ways to spend time with our loved ones and enjoy each other’s company. That’s the lesson we have all learned, that in the end it’s our Faith, our home and our family that is most important.

From now on, let prayer be an important part of our life and our family life. Let us spend more precious moments with our loved ones and learn to take care of one another. And let our faith be stronger so that believing in our Risen Lord we may continue to be messengers of Easter Joy, Peace and Hope.

Fr. Kishore and I will continue to hold you in our prayers and we wish you a Blessed Easter!

Fr. Socorro