Dear Parishioners,

Happy Easter! At long last we enter into this great season of the church where we celebrate for 50 days the Lord’s resurrection. This week is extra special. It is the octave (8 days), where we celebrate each day as if it was the day itself. It is a time to give thanks and enter into the joy of this great season of the church.

Some things are coming up soon that you should be aware of. Next Saturday April 26th, at 8 AM we have a Spanish Mass at SJ. Anyone is welcome, I am going to try to do this once a month for now. We also have a pizza party at OLF after Mass on the 26th as a thanksgiving for meeting our Ministries Appeal goal last year.

Next Sunday is (1st Sunday of Easter) is Divine Mercy Sunday. There will be confessions and recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at Immaculate Heart in Cross Lake starting at 2:30 PM. There will be no meal afterwards, just some light refreshments. All are welcome to attend. We have our 1st Communion Mass next Sunday as well at the 10:30 AM SJ (April 27th ). We will probably have extra people at that Mass, so just be advised.

Confirmation for our parish will be celebrated at 11 AM Sat. May 3rd. Bishop Daniel will be here to celebrate with us and confer confirmation on our students. Please pray for our 1st communicants and confirmandi as they prepare for these special sacraments.

I believe it is Fr. George Zeck’s birthday on Thursday April 24th. I am sincerely grateful for Fr. George and his dedication to the priesthood. He has been a great example and witness to me and my brother priests over the years. If you see him, you can wish him a happy birthday!

Dcn. Phil Mayer’s first pastoral assignment as a priest was announced last weekend up in Pequot, Nisswa, Pine River, Crosslake and Emily. He will be serving those parishes with Fr. Tony Wroblewski and Fr. Tim Lange. This is a new pastoral arrangement in which Fr. Tony will be the pastor, and Fr. Tim and (Fr.) Phil will be the parochial vicars (assistant pastors). Dcn. Phil’s ordination will be Friday June 13th, and he will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at SJ on Sat. June 14th at 4 PM.

I pray you can all enter into the joy of this season. We have fasted and prayed for 40 days, and now we feast and celebrate. As we make this transition, consider how feasting and celebrating doesn’t mean an over indulgence. Rather, we take part in the celebration best by doing so in a way that cooperates with our human dignity. We don’t need to stuff ourselves, or binge on the things we gave up. Instead, we can partake of them in a fitting manner which

allows us to enjoy them without over doing it. This is a lesson that needs to be learned. Otherwise, our feasting can lead us into an over indulgence which empties the joy of the celebration. Striking the balance is sometimes difficult.

May you all have a very blessed Easter Octave. I am delighted to be serving in these parishes and I am grateful for each of you. I want to thank all who took part in the special celebrations and those who assisted as ministers or volunteers. I appreciate it very much!

In Christ,

Fr. Eli