Christ is risen — he is risen indeed! For fifty days the Church sings her Alleluia, for the stone has been rolled away and death itself has been defeated. The Easter season is not a single Sunday but a sustained outpouring of joy, an invitation to live as people who know how the story ends: in life, in light, and in love without end.

The Resurrection is not only something we believe; it is something we are called to live. Because Christ is risen, no failure is final, no grave is permanent, and no situation lies beyond the reach of grace. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in us, making all things new and sending us out as witnesses of hope.

Let the joy of Easter overflow into how we treat one another. Forgive freely, serve generously, and speak of the hope that is within you. Gather at this altar, where the Risen Lord still makes himself known in the breaking of the bread, and carry his Easter light into every corner of your week.

This week the Church also celebrates Pentecost Sunday. We give thanks for this gift in the life of the Church, and we ask the intercession and example of those who have gone before us to strengthen our own discipleship.

As our community observes Memorial Day, we pause to give thanks for the blessings of this land, to remember all who have served and sacrificed, and to pray for our nation — that it may be a place of justice, freedom, and peace for every person.

We also hold in prayer all who suffer across our world — those touched by war, disaster, illness, and hardship. We do not look away from their pain; we lift it to God, and we ask the Lord to make us, in whatever way we can, instruments of his peace.

And we do all of this not alone but together, as one parish family. Reach out this week to someone who is struggling. Welcome the newcomer, visit the sick, encourage the young, and give thanks for the many hands that quietly keep our parish alive. The Gospel is best preached by the way we love one another.

May God bless you and all whom you love this week, and may he keep you close to his heart.

— The Pastoral Team