Allelulia! Happy Easter!
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April 6, 2026Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Happy Easter!
To all our parishioners, and to all our guests, family members, friends, and visitors joining us this weekend: welcome! We are glad you are here. Easter is the heart of the Christian faith, the day when the Church proclaims with joy that death, sin, and the grave does not have the final word. Jesus Christ is alive. Alleluia!
In the Gospel for Easter morning, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is still dark. It is still dark, and yet the light of the Resurrection has already begun to break into the world. So often, that is how God works in our lives too. Before we fully understand what He is doing, before we can explain it clearly, before all fear and confusion are gone, God is already at work. The stone has already been rolled away.
That is part of the beauty of Easter. The Resurrection is not only something that happened a long time ago, but also the power of God at work now, in the present. In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter boldly proclaims that the One who was put to death has been raised up by God. In the letter to the Colossians, St. Paul says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” Easter changes not only Christ’s tomb. It changes us. Through Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, we are drawn into His risen life.
That is why this weekend is such a joy for our parish. We welcome a dozen new members into the Church through Baptism or through the completion of the Sacraments of Initiation. What a beautiful sign of Easter hope! 2000 years after Jesus rose from the dead, the risen Lord is still gathering people to Himself. He is still calling men and women, young and old, into His Body, the Church. He is still making all things new. Their “yes” to Christ is a gift to all of us. It reminds us that the Church is not a museum but a living people being renewed by grace.
I have also been thinking about this as I have watched the renovations at the St. Monica Adoration Chapel. I am very grateful to the Adoration Chapel Committee, who over the past year have raised funds and led the effort to renovate the chapel. When I first arrived at St. Michael Parish, the chapel was used only a couple of hours each week. Fr. Morin had faithfully offered a regular Spanish Mass there on Saturdays, and when he was no longer able to continue because of his health, I worried the chapel might sit quiet and underused.
Instead, the Lord has brought forth something new. Our hope is that, in time, we will be able to extend the available hours throughout the week so that more people can come before the Lord in prayer. In a real way, that chapel has become for me an image of the Easter mystery: life out of death, renewal after loss, hope where there might have been discouragement. The risen Jesus does this again and again. He restores. He renews. He breathes life into what seemed finished.
Many of us know the tension between past and future. We remember what once was. We worry about what may come. We may even be tempted to believe the lie that our best days are behind us. But Easter tells us otherwise. At the center of our faith is not nostalgia or fear. At the center of our faith is the risen Christ.
And at the center of the Church’s life is the Eucharist, the sacrament in which Christ continues to feed us, change us, and unite us to Himself. God loves us as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us as we are. He is a God of transformation. Because Christ is risen, we do not need to be afraid of the future. We do not need to cling desperately to the past. Some changes are difficult. Some losses are real. But the Lord who conquered death is still leading His Church. He still has plans for blessing. He still brings forth new life.
So this Easter, let us be filled with gratitude. Let us welcome our new brothers and sisters with joy. Let us make time to visit the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Let us ask for the grace to believe again that He is not finished with us, not finished with our parish, and not finished with His work in our lives.
I pray that you and your loved ones have a blessed Easter. Please pray for me, for the other priests who serve our parish, Fr. Toniyo and Fr. Dass, for Deacon Jeff, and for our staff. Know that we will pray for you, your loved ones, and your intentions. Blessed Easter to all of you. Christ is Risen! Alleluia!