Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Risen Lord:

The Lord is truly risen, alleluia. To him be glory and power for all the ages of eternity, alleluia, alleluia. (Luke 24.34; cf Revelation 1:6)

The Lord is truly risen. This is the truth of Easter. This is the truth that we celebrate. This is the truth that we give witness to.

This is the truth of Easter. Our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the Cross has risen and is now alive. He rose from the dead and opened for us eternal life with God. In the Gospel, the message of the Angel to the women who went to see the tomb is encouraging: “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’” (Mt. 28.5-7) Like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, this good news should be a cause of great joy for us!

This is the truth that we celebrate. Our Lord Jesus Christ is with us and will forever be present in our midst. He is true to his promise. He is alive. He wants to meet us in Galilee. What is the significance of Galilee? It was Jesus’ home. It was where Jesus’ followers lived. It was also the place where many significant events took place as Jesus fulfills his mission. Even now, Jesus wants to meet us where we live. He wants to find a dwelling there. He wants to entrust us with a mission of making his presence known and experienced by everyone.

This is the truth that we give witness to in our daily lives. We need to tell the world around us, Jesus is risen and he is with us. We need to show the world that we are witnesses to this truth. We are his disciples. We need to be faithful to Jesus who appears to the disciples and assures them: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of age.” (Mt. 28.18-20) A witness is someone who testifies to the truth. It is our responsibility as followers of Jesus to give witness to his truth with the way we live our respective lives. May we show to the world around us that we are people who believe and give witness to the resurrection of Jesus, that we are Easter people!

My sincere appreciation to all of you for making our Lenten and Easter celebrations prayerful and beautiful. Let us continue to renew our faith in the Risen Lord as we gather daily and weekly to celebrate God’s everlasting presence among us in the Eucharist.

Happy Easter and happy renewal of our baptismal promises!

With my Easter prayers and blessings,

Fr. Rectorino M. Tolentino, Jr.
Pastor

Sisters & Brothers in Christ in the Parishes of St. Joseph’s & St. Anthony’s:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

The Season of Lent begins through the imposition of ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday.  The ashes are imprinted on our foreheadswith a sign of the Cross.  It is meant to remind us of our identity and relationship with God.  First, it means we belong to God.  We are his children.  Second, as narrated by St. Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, “we are ambassadors for Christ.”  We have the responsibility to make Jesus’ presence felt and experienced in this world.  Third, given the identity and relationship that we have with God, as His children and ambassadors of His Son, we are constantly called to holiness of life.  In the Book of Leviticus we find a command from God himself: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”    

Thus, these 40 days of Lent are an opportunity given to us for turning back to God, for conversion.  Through the help of the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, hopefully, we will come to acknowledge the ways we have turned away from God in our lives and we will focus on turning our hearts and minds back toward Him.  Pope Francis tweets, “In life we all make many mistakes. Let us learn to recognize our errors and ask forgiveness.”  This Season of Lent is indeed given to us for drawing ourselves closer to God.  Please take advantage of celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

This year, as a way of giving us a Parish Lenten Mission related to the disciplines of Lent, may I suggest the following:  Prayer.  I invite families in our parishes to worship and pray together especially by attending Sunday Eucharist.  Fasting.  I encourage families to gather for a simple meal at least once a week.  Within the simplicity of a meal, a family should be able to save some costs; the very nature of a simple meal is already a manifestation of your solidarity with any poor person or family.  Almsgiving.  If you so desire, your simple meal can be translated as an act of almsgiving or charity.  Whatever you save from having a simple meal can be shared with anyone who is experiencing hunger for food.  It could be in our own parish community, the Town of Smithers or Houston, or anywhere in the world where you think there are poor in need of your generosity who will receive and appreciate it.

Let us strive to live a holy life as we journey throughout this Season of Lent.  As we do, may it lead us to be mindful of the reality around us, our identity and our mission.  I pray for a holy, prayerful and fruitful Lenten journey.  May we reach Easter with hearts and minds renewed in the Lord!

I remain,

Fr. Rectorino M. Tolentino, Jr.
Pastor