I am grateful for those who brought forth the grace and dignity of our Holy Week Liturgies experienced in all three churches: St. John, St. Malachy, and Sacred Heart. For those who decorated the sanctuary and church proper reflecting the hope of our faith; the altar servers who had to adjust to the different rituals at the Triduum Masses; the ushers and greeters who provided a spirit of hospitality; the musicians and voices of the choir and cantors who lifted up the grace of hope and ultimate joy in our liturgies; the readers who dignified the Word of God; those behind the scenes who cleaned the church proper's as an inviting space to pray and receive the Sacraments; our staff whose faith brings forth the possibilities of parish life; our deacons whose service embellishes our shared prayers and Sacraments; and those individuals and families who participated and shared your faith and presence, the visual evidence and presence of the Body of Christ. As Pope John Paul II believed: “Do not abandon yourselves to despair. 
We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
 
Just a thought pertaining to the ‘amazement’ of those who witnessed the empty tomb and later, the Resurrected Christ, in the words of the Christian writer, Stephen Beale. “After being told by Mary Magdalene and the other women that they had found Jesus’ tomb empty, Peter responded in a way that most of us probably would have: he immediately ran off to the tomb to confirm their story. Here is how his reaction is described in Luke 24:12: Peter, however, went off to the tomb, running. He bent down and looked in and saw the linen cloths but nothing else; he then went back home, amazed at what had happened. This description of Peter as ‘amazed’ at the empty tomb recalls something Blessed Pope John Paul II said near the end of his papacy. In an encyclical, John Paul II called for a rekindling of ‘Eucharistic amazement.’ This Easter season is an opportunity for us to also rekindle our amazement at the resurrection, following the example of St. Peter. How can we rekindle in our hearts ‘amazement’ at the resurrection? It’s worth pointing out that amazement at the Eucharist and amazement at the resurrection are quite closely related. It goes without saying that without the resurrection, we could not receive the gift of the Eucharist. Indeed, the connection is even closer: the original example of Eucharistic amazement cited by John Paul II is the breaking of the bread between Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus. 
 
 
 
 
This was one of the first appearances of Christ after his resurrection. 
This offers us a specific way of thinking about the Eucharist—as a way of experiencing the Resurrected Christ.” Thank you for your kindness, for sharing your presence and faith within our parish, for your support that allows our Catholic mission to share the gospel and strengthen our hope through the reception of the Sacraments as an ongoing source of God’s grace and His Son’s healing spirit in our midst. 
Because I enjoy poetry—though I understand little—I leave you with a poem written by John Greenleaf Whittier in 1882 entitled, 
“An Easter Flower Gift.” 
O dearest bloom the seasons know, 
Flowers of the Resurrection blow, 
Our hope and faith restore; 
And through the bitterness of death 
And loss and sorrow, breathe a breath 
Of life forevermore! 
The thought of Love Immortal blends 
With fond remembrances of friends; 
In you, O sacred flowers, 
By human love made doubly sweet, 
The heavenly and the earthly meet, 
The heart of Christ and ours! 
God Bless your family and home this Easter, Fr. Tim