Dear brothers and sisters,
Happy Easter! It is finally Easter Sunday, and we are ready to get the reward for our work during Lent. After joining in the suffering of Christ, we now want to participate in the rejoicing of his glorious Resurrection.
We had a very blessed Holy Week at St. Elizabeth’s. Our first event was the Chrism Mass on Tuesday at the Cathedral. Several of our parishioners, students, and missionaries were able to attend. Archbishop Aquila drew from the readings in Isaiah to explain what an encounter with Jesus Christ really means. It was very compelling. You can hear it at on his podcast: https://www.ivoox.com/en/chrism-mass-2023-audios-mp3_rf_105913227_1.html.
On Thursday, we had the Mass of the Last Supper at St. Elizabeth’s. We had a good number of people join us for the ceremony. I washed the feet of 12 young men to promote vocations to the Priesthood. We also had the Holy Oils, blessed on Tuesday, presented at the beginning of Mass by three of our students: Hannah, Celia, and Sandra. They did a great job!
Finally, on Friday, we prayed the Stations of the Cross outside. It was a beautiful time of prayer we shared with about 30 people. After that, we had the Celebration of the Passion and the Adoration of the Cross. We were blessed in all of the ceremonies with the assistance of Deacon Charles.
At the time of writing this, we are getting ready for the Easter Vigil, the holiest of all nights. I am very excited about it.
May our Lady of Guadalupe intercede for us before the Risen Lord that he grant us a share in the joy of the Resurrection.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Richard, MC