“He Had to Rise from the Dead!”

 
It’s time to sing Alleluia!  Today is Easter Sunday, the day Christians all over the world celebrate Mary Magdalene’s discovery: Jesus’ tomb is empty.
 
The Sunday morning gospel is a mixture of confusion, fear, wonder and awe.  Peter and John ran to the tomb to investigate and they found it just as Mary had said: empty but with the burial cloths still there.  We’ll hear that John saw and believed, but we’ll also hear they still didn’t understand the Scripture at that point, “that he

Please note that I will be on vacation from Monday, April 22 through Friday April 26.    In my absence, please contact Fr. Peter Fernandes, especially for the Anointing of the Sick.  He can be reached at 847-885-7700, ext. 107.  Or you can always contact Pat Aschom, our parish secretary, at ext. 104 and she will assist you.    I’ll be back for First Communion on Saturday, April 27!

had to rise from the dead” (John 20:9).
 
And that’s a powerful reflection that moves our hearts and minds this Easter: He had to rise from the dead.  In rising, he opened the gates of paradise so that our life with God would never have to end.  He has given us the opportunity to live fully with God, now and always, the way God intended it to be from the beginning.
 
The saints and angels sing today.  They experience the resurrection without ceasing.  And we lift up our hearts to sing with them:  Heaven and earth are filled with God’s glory. Hosanna in the highest!  The body of Christ has been lifted up so we can be lifted up with him. 
 
Love conquers hate; life conquers death.  And it leads us to sing Alleluia!
 
On behalf of all us dedicated to serving you here at St. Hubert, Happy Easter!  It’s good to be together—especially today!
   

Thanks and Remembering

Today, at the close of the Triduum, we rejoice and receive the Risen Lord into our hearts. How moving and magnificent it was to celebrate Holy Week and these holiest of days, when we kneel and wash the feet of one another; when we adore the cross of suffering and death, awed by God’s love for us; when we recall and rejoice together who we are as a baptized people.
 
More than 20 liturgies were celebrated from Passion/Palm Sunday through today on Easter Sunday. The volunteers you witnessed and those who spent hours behind the scenes in preparation are too many in number to mention by name.  Whether you watered a plant, proclaimed a reading, prepared the environment, moved a piece of furniture, served the Eucharist, played an instrument, assisted our song with your voice, presided at liturgy, served at the altar or took care of our needs as ushers, thank you  to everyone in every ministry who was gracious and attentive to the liturgy.