April
3 , 2005
Third Sunday of Easter
He's
baaaack!
New
Mass
The
number of Spanish-speaking people attending our Spanish masses has been
increasing. 1500 people came to the Sunday morning mass over the past
two weekends and the usual number is around 800. The chapel only holds
600 so there are often 200 people standing for mass.
Starting next Sunday, April 10th we are adding a new Spanish mass on
our Sunday schedule at 7:30am in the school chapel. This will allow
some of those attending the 11:45 to come earlier in the morning and
it allows people who work on Saturday nights and Sunday during the day
to have an early morning mass in Spanish.
Thanks
Thank you to everyone who gave so generously in the Easter Fund Collection
so far. If you haven’t sent in your Easter donation, please do
so this week.
Catholic
Ministries Appeal
I’ve pledged. Have you?
You can pledge online here!
At
College?
At St. Brigid’s we like to stay in touch through
e-mail “letters from home.”
Once a person has an e-mail address at school (or if he/she uses a personal
address), please let us know what it is so we can include them when
we write.
Here's a handy college link so you
can send this info online.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
March 27th: Not the best
news...yet
March 20th: What are You
Doing For Easter?
March 13th: The Stench
March 6: To Tell or Not
To Tell
February 27: Dry Mouth Dry
Soul
February 20: Good to Be
Here
February 13: And he was
hungry?
Ash Wednesday '05
February 6: Ashes Already?
January 23: Catholic Schools
Week
January 16: Continued Charity
January 9: Migration
January 2:All is bright?
Columns from 2004
Columns from 2003
Columns from 2002
“I’ll
be back.” “I shall return.” Whether spoken by ‘Ahnold’
or General MacArthur, the promise to return could be seen as a threat.
How different it is when Jesus promises to return. Before his death he
assured his disciples that he’d be back. This Sunday we encounter
him in the gospel returning not with vengeance or punishment for all that
was done to him, but filled with divine mercy.
We can only imagine the dread felt
by the apostles, mixed with the joy of seeing the risen Lord. Dread? Well,
I suspect they were nervous about getting the lecture and scolding: “Where
were you when I needed you most? How could you betray and deny me? What
kind of friends are you?” But that’s not what Jesus says when
he meets his apostles. “Peace be with you.” That’s it.
No lecture, no scolding. Just peace.
That’s Jesus’s gift
to us today too. Last week I was chatting with a number of folks who had
been away from church and who had come to celebrate Easter. I think they
were expecting a lecture. Instead they found the peace of Jesus. So if
you’re one of those folks who’ve come back after Easter, we
rejoice with you. Peace be with you. You’re home in a community
of acceptance and joy.
As disciples of Jesus, we can surprise
others with the gift of peace during these 50 days of the Easter season.
Who do you know who is “locked away” in fear or guilt? In
what way can you appear in the midst of their dread and hurt and offer
the Jesus message of peace?
Of course the freedom of God’s forgiveness starts at homer in ourselves.
If you’re still carrying around past guilts, today is the day to
give them a rest. Accept the Lord’s forgiveness and peace and let
it sink deeply in to your mind, heart and soul. Feel it in your body.
That’s why Jesus is back!
You are Person
