I hope you all celebrated a wonderful Easter last Sunday with your loved ones, and are enjoying the Maple Festival this week! We still have 6 more weeks of Easter remaining until the conclusion of Pentecost, so there's plenty of time to rejoice in the gift of the Resurrection of Christ from the dead and our redemption in Him.

Divine Mercy Sunday:
Today we celebrate the Resurrection in a very special way with Divine Mercy Sunday, the eighth day of the Easter season. The 'eighth day' is an important date in the cycle of liturgical time. Much like we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries on a regularly recurring basis (every 365 days), our Church celebrates the Resurrection every eight days on Sunday, which is why our Church speaks of an obligation to come to Mass on Sundays and Vigils (could you imagine missing the birthday or anniversary of the person whom you love most and who loves you most? Unthinkable!). There are 51 'Octaves of Easter' (or let's call them 'miniEasters'), and one BIG Easter (Easter Sunday) each year. Today's feast of Divine Mercy is the first 'Octave' (or the 'eighth day') after Easter Sunday, which holds special graces of pardon from sin for those who have gone to confession in the past few weeks (anytime in Lent) and who receive communion in the state of grace, trusting in the mercy of Jesus. If you haven't been to confession for many months or years, I encourage you to do so this Easter season so that you receive the fullness of His Divine Mercy!

Divine Mercy Image:
I've approved a donation from a parish family for an image of the Divine Mercy to adorn our church. It will be housed in the small alcove on the choir side of the church about halfway back. My prayer is that our devotion to Jesus' Divine Mercy will open an outpouring of mercy upon our community that we may know how loved we are by our Lord. The image itself depicts rays of light emanating from Jesus' heart, and it originated from a message to St. Faustina from Jesus requesting that an image be painted for the salvation of those who venerate our Lord in this image. Jesus told St. Faustina in her diary, "The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls.. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross."

The image is signed with the words, "Jesus, I trust in you." Wow, do I need to repeat those words over and over again for myself! I also hear people frequently tell me that they have trouble seeing how God could possibly forgive them, or they have trouble forgiving themselves, for what they've done. TRUST is the operative word for what we need to experience the Divine Mercy of Jesus! Trust Him and His promises even when you don't 'feel' or sense His presence or mercy. He is there! Faith is trust that our Lord remains always near to us even in our sinfulness!

Prayers for Confirmandi
Please say a special prayer for our confirmandi as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Monday. Bishop Malesic will celebrate the Sacrament for them at St. Mary Parish. We are blessed to have him with us! Our confirmandi are eager to receive this Sacrament of Initiation. I am proud of them and excited to see how the Lord's Spirit will work through them in our midst. Thank you to their parents, sponsors, and catechists who formed them for this day, and who will continue to witness to Christ's Spirit in their lives.