From the Pastor:
Thanks again to everyone who helped to prepare the Church for the Holy Week, assisted with the Liturgies, sang in the choirs, or helped with the reception after the Easter Vigil. Your efforts and contributions are greatly appreciated by me and the parishioners. Sharing your God-given gifts and talents with the parish in this way allows us to tangibly experience our faith in a much greater way. May God bless you abundantly in this life, but even more so in eternity!
The Easter Vigil last Saturday was a very special Mass, as it always is. I recommend that Catholics experience the unmistakable, spiritual beauty of that evening at least once every five years. One of the special moments that evening was when 27 people became the newest members of the Catholic Church here in the Mansfield area. I’m very happy and excited for them! Seventeen of them received the three Sacraments of Initiation, which are Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. Baptism is the “gateway” to all the other sacraments and is how a person becomes Christian. Whether or not the person lives the Christian Faith is another matter!
The remaining ten had been previously baptized as Christian but wanted to enter into “full communion” with the Catholic Church. Converts come into the Church from many different Christian denominations. They appreciate what is good and true of their previous Christian denominations, but see the Catholic Faith has the fullness of what God revealed to us regarding faith and morals. Each of them publicly professed that evening, before receiving the sacrament of Confirmation, the following: I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.
The attraction to the Catholic Church for some is the sacraments, for others it is the moral code of the Catholic Church, and still others it is the fact that Jesus only established one Church. As our world becomes less Christian, and adopts lifestyles that contradict even the most basic aspects of the natural order, more and more people are searching for the unchanging truth of God. As they search for one aspect of truth, they discover the “fullness of truth” in the Catholic Church. That challenges them, but in humility and prayer, they realize that not accepting the “fullness of truth” is exactly why the world and humanity is in the sad situation that it is.
This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday, and I invite you to a special Holy Hour today at 3pm at Resurrection Parish. This special hour of prayer is not the product of human thinking, but given to us by Jesus himself. It was less than one hundred years ago that Jesus instructed St. Faustina about Divine Mercy. Jesus said: “The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” Please consider the appeal of our Savior and join us for this beautiful hour of prayer.
Gratefully,
Fr. Miller