April 13th Pastor's Message
- Communications AllSaints
- Apr 12
- 3 min read
Read this week's message from Father Don
Dear Friends,
We are entering Holy Week this year with the world in turmoil. The tariff war is causing great disruption to the world economy, along with the threat of job losses and a recession. Political instability plagues many nations, while in the Church there is continuing concern about the pope’s health and the rapid decline in the practice of the faith.
The state of the world may be distressing but, if we are honest, we’ll have to admit that the world is always in some kind of turmoil. This distress is the background against which we must understand the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our saving god.
“Jesus died for our sins and rose triumphant from the dead, so that we might all have eternal life.” This brief summary description of the Paschal mystery may be accurate but it is not adequate to explain how the death and resurrection of Christ impacts our personal lives.
On the cross, Jesus took to himself not only our sinfulness but every experience of human suffering, distress, confusion and misery. He plunged himself deeply into the most wounded aspects of human existence. Ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried (Isaiah 53.4).
The Crucified Saviour is in every one of our sufferings and burdens, which means we are not alone in our distress. By his voluntary choosing, as a supreme act of love, Christ entered triumphantly into the darkness of the world, and into our own personal darkness. It is there that he assures us we are bigger than our sufferings and that, in the end, all will be well. There he models for us that self-giving love which is the heart of his triumph.
The crucifixion and the resurrection are not two separate experiences but one complex mystery. The new life of Christ, manifested in his rising from the dead, is something we are invited to share through embracing his example of self-giving love. It is a manner of living that begins in this world and continues unto eternal life. In short, the resurrection is not merely something extraordinary that happened to Jesus but something extraordinary that we are called to enter into.
Big truths like the Paschal mystery are not disrupted by the annoying behaviour of American presidents or by the collapse of the financial markets or by the injustices widely visible throughout the world. God made the world, God sent his son to heal the world, and God cries out to all who listen Come, take up your cross and follow me (Matthew 16.24).
Once again, here are the HOLY WEEK DETAILS:
Holy Thursday, April 17: The mass of the Last Supper will begin at 7 p.m. followed by eucharistic adoration in the parish hall. Bring food donations for the poor.
Good Friday, April 18: There will be Children’s Stations of the Cross at 10 am and the Seven Last Words at 2:30 p.m. before the Liturgy of the Passion. Confessions will be available at 5 pm.
Holy Saturday, April 19: The Easter Vigil will begin at 9:30 p.m. with the blessing of the Easter fire.
Easter Sunday, April 20: After the morning masses there will be brunch in the hall, as well as games and an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. Mass will also be celebrated at 7 pm
I look forward to seeing you at the liturgies this week.
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