My dear St. Stanislaus Community, it was almost three years ago that I shared with you the excitement and fear and questions I was experiencing after I was appointed as your Parish Life Coordinator.

Today, I am writing to you one last time as Parish Life Coordinator. I feel truly blessed and give thanks to God for allowing me to lead our community, Parish, and School, for the last three years. I give thanks to God for Fr. Adrian and pray that the Holy Spirit will give him wisdom in his new role as our Parish Administrator.

This Sunday we hear from the Gospel: Jesus said, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled! How often do we feel troubled or traumatized or feel depressed!

Maybe when the family is falling apart; Spouses having issues and troubles and drifting away from faith;

Or when we experience failures in Life; There are times we feel our prayers not answered and we are discouraged; Or when you feel lonely and get depressed!

A Happy Easter to all of you!

This weekend (the first Sunday after Easter) is Divine Mercy Sunday. I wanted to share with you a great description of this feast from Divinemercysunday.com:

"Today is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, the 8th day of the Feast of Easter in which Blessed Pope John Paul II said that we receive the Easter Gift. And what is this very special Easter Gift? It is the special gift of the total forgiveness of all sins and punishment that the Catholic Church offers in the form of a plenary indulgence today. But, why today? What sets this day apart from any other day? Today is the Octave Day of Easter; the last day of the world’s greatest feast. And shouldn’t the world’s greatest feast offer the world’s greatest gift; the total forgiveness of all sins and punishment, or in other words, “a straight ticket to Heaven” if we should die today in this perfect state of sanctifying grace? And what is Divine Mercy? The word “Divine” means “given by God” or “like God”. The word “Mercy” means “the refraining from harming or punishing offenders”. So simply put, Divine Mercy is “God refraining from harming or punishing offenders”.

When it seems that we are finally making good progress coming out of two years of pandemic, the loom of war obscures the horizon and once again we are experiencing its impact around the world. What remains the same and has not changed over the past two years, as a matter of fact it has not changed since the beginning of time, is the love of God for us, for each one of us.

It is the love of God that strengthen us to be missionary disciples of His only Son our Lord Jesus Christ. By His resurrection, Jesus conquered death forever and gave us the reassurance that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (Jn 14:6).

We are about to end Lent, it is a good time to reflect on some questions: What experience do I have with my resolutions or promises at the beginning of this Lent? Am I succeeding, or have I forgotten my promises? What benefits am I having spiritually and bodily?

Let us remember that prayer, fasting, works of mercy, promises and good resolutions with which we begin Lent should benefit others and oneself. If you are achieving it, thank God, and if you have not achieved it, do not be discouraged. The Lord Jesus knows that we are weak and that we go through moments of weakness, temptations, and darkness in our lives.