Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Mary’s of The Lake:

✠ A BLESSED & HAPPY EASTER to you and yours!  Jesus is indeed Risen, ALLELUIA! The Resurrection of our Lord is the central part of our faith, just as St. Paul wrote: ‘Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep… If Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, your faith… If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all…’ (cf. 1Cor 15: 13-19). Along with our faith in the Resurrection and New Life is our call to renew or to change our life for the better in the name of our Risen Lord.  Fr. Philip

 “... The Resurrection of Christ is not a feast with many flowers. This is beautiful, but it isn’t this, it’s more; it is the mystery of the discarded stone that ends up being the foundation of our existence. It means Christ is risen. In this disposable culture where what isn’t useful goes the way of the used and is thrown away, where what isn’t useful is discarded, that stone – Jesus – is discarded and yet is the source of life. And we also, pebbles on the ground, in this land of sorrow, of tragedies, with faith in the Risen Christ have meaning, in the midst of so many calamities.
The meaning of looking at the other, the meaning of saying: ‘Look, there isn’t a wall; there is a horizon, there is life, there is joy, there is the cross with this ambivalence. Look ahead; don’t ‘close’ yourself. You, pebble, have a meaning in life because you are a pebble next to that stone, that rock that the evil of sin has discarded.’ What does the Church say to us today in face of so many tragedies? Simply this: The discarded rock is not really discarded. The pebbles that believe and attach themselves to that rock aren’t discarded, they have meaning and with this sentiment the Church repeats from the depth of her heart: ‘Christ is risen.’

Let’s think a bit, let each one of us think, of the daily problems, of the sicknesses we have lived through or that one of our relatives has; let’s think of the wars, the human tragedies and, simply, with a humble voice, without flowers, alone, before God, before ourselves we say: ‘I don’t know how this is so, but I’m sure that Christ is risen and I bet on this.’ Brothers and sisters, this is what I wanted to say to you. Return home today, repeating in your heart: ‘Christ is risen!’” (Excerpt from Pope Francis’ Homily on Easter 2016)

Happy Easter  ✠   Mừng Phục Sinh! (Vietnamese)