Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. (Matthew 28:5; Gospel for the Easter Vigil) Thus the evangelist records the words of the angel to the women who had come to the tomb on that Easter morn. The angel’s first words to the women were borrowed by our late Holy Father, Saint Pope John Paul II, when he was elected to the Papacy: “Be not afraid!” What is it that Man fears most? Is it not death, the ultimate destroyer of one’s identity and being? Today, Easter, we commemorate the triumph of Christ over sin and death by His resurrection. The Lord is truly risen, Alleluia. To him be glory and power for all the ages of eternity, Alleluia, Alleluia! (Easter entrance antiphon). The forty days of Lent – of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving – now yield to the rejoicing and feasting of Easter. We should feast, and with the same zeal with which we fasted during Lent. Even nature beckons us to rejoice at new life! The Church has always considered the Resurrection of the Lord to be the principal Feast of our Faith. That is why the Easter season lasts fifty days! Next Sunday is observed as “Divine Mercy Sunday.” Sister Faustina Kowalska was canonized on the Sunday following Easter during the Great Jubilee Year of 2000 by Saint Pope John Paul II in a ceremony at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. A Polish nun, Saint Faustina was the first canonized saint of the new millennium! It was through Saint Faustina that Jesus encouraged this special devotion in which we emphasize the Divine Mercy of the Lord. I will speak more about Saint Faustina and the Divine Mercy devotion in next week’s bulletin. On behalf of Fr. Daniel Williams, Deacons Jerry Ruesch & Tony Biolo, and the parish staff, I want to thank all our parishioners for the kind gifts and cards we have received on the occasion of this Easter Feast. May the Lord bless you and your family today and throughout this Holy Easter Season!! 
May God bless you! 
Fr. Schaller