“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.”

My dear friends in Christ,

And suddenly, Jesus appears in their midst. The fact that He comes suddenly, although the doors were locked, indicates that His presence is now of a different kind. He wishes them peace. It is the ordinary greeting of ‘Shalom’ but one which has special meaning in this Easter context. Before His Passion Jesus had told His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.” The peace of the Risen Jesus is fully of messianic blessings. In spite of what they had heard, they are terrified and think they are seeing a ghost. Jesus asks them: “What are you afraid of?” He shows them His pierced hands and feet and invites them to touch Him. Jesus explains to them that what has happened to Him was fully in harmony with the fulfillment of the Law, the prophets and psalms. Mentioning the three constituent parts of the Old Testament, Jesus indicates that the Messiah was foretold through the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures. They are then called to become missionaries.

Thank you to all who participated in our Super 50/50 drawing which was held last Sunday. The winner’s share was $9,005.00 before taxes. Congratulations!

Please pray for our Confirmandi who received their Sacrament of Confirmation last Thursday. We were blessed to have Bishop O’Connell here with us. We also wish to acknowledge with gratitude the dedication of our Catechists who lovingly witnessed to their faith through teaching and preparation. Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Vahey, Mrs. Campbell, and Judy for all their work. A thanks also to Wanda and Renee for providing such beautiful music for the ceremony.

May God bless you all,

Father John