During the beautiful Easter Vigil liturgy there was (and always is) a lull between the extended Liturgy of the Word (Old Testament readings) and the return of the Gloria, Alleluia's and instrumental accompaniment that begins the "celebration" of Christ's Resurrection and reality of his glorified existence for all eternity. It might also be the case in our faith lives that there is a lull between our celebration of our baptismal status (which we renewed at the Easter Vigil) and our lives going forward beyond the Octave of Easter and even the Easter Season, to the rest of the "Church Year". In fact the Easter Season (which culminates with the Solemnity of Pentecost the coming of the Holy Spirit) is given for us to pay attention to the growth of the Church in the years following the Resurrection which among other things renews our evangelical zeal to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified and risen to others explicitly (especially to those who are unchurched and/or are not practicing their faith) and implicitly by our service-filled, hope-filled and peace-filled lives in the Lord. The spiritual and material disciplines of Lent are not meant to necessarily end, but hopefully the practice of these have become a habit that contin-ues and grows throughout the rest of the year. The Lord is always ready to transform our lives to make them more and more like His and therefore more and more ready for his Kingdom that has no end!! Please use the "Little White Books" that were provided on Easter Weekend and see what blessings the Lord has in store for all who acknowledge his presence and power in their daily lives.

I also want to thank all those who contributed to making our Easter Triduum liturgies so beautiful and meaningful as well as those who helped out with our meals (on Holy Thursday and Good Friday) and the reception after the Easter Vigil. Special thanks to the Men's Club, headed up By Bruce Rhodea for their efforts before, during and after the Holy Thursday meal and Susan Harrell and all her helpers for the efforts to provide the setting for the Good Friday lunch and reception after the Easter Vigil. Unlike last year I'm not going to mention any other names, but you all know who you are who joined with me in giving fitting worship to God and thanks to Jesus Christ for the sacrifice of love he gave us through his passion, death and resurrection and the great gift of the Eucharist and lesson of service that he provided to the apostles and all of us who are counted among his disciples.

Those of you who participated in some or all of the Triduum liturgies, I ask you to share your experiences of those liturgies among yourselves and those who did not participate and encourage them to join you and others next year for what is truly the "High Point of the Church's Year" that we annually prepare for AND reflect and benefit from for the rest of the year!
He is Risen.....and is truly alive and is working in so many lives!! Alleluia!

I want to start this Easter Sunday pastor's column by saying "He is Risen" Alleluia! As I compose this column on Palm Sunday weekend, I am pondering Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on a "beast of burden" to the cheers of the crowd ("Hosanna!! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Mk 11:10), only to have many of them less than a week later jeer at him and call for his death in a most cruel and painful way. Jesus did not turn out to be the one who they thought would lead them in armed revolt against their Roman occupiers, so they turned totally against him and agreed with those who wanted to rid themselves of him. Having gone through the Triduum of the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord and now entering into the glorious 50 days of the Easter Season, it is appropriate for us to thank God for having the last say over sin and death. As we hear the stories of the early postResurrection communities of faith throughout the Easter Season in Acts of the Apostles, hopefully we will be inspired by their example to spread the Good News of Christ's life, death and Resurrection to others through our words and deeds and our hope-filled demeanor in the face of death!

Since this is the last weekend of the month, I want to take time to acknowledge and give thanks for our V.I.P. for the month of March, Janet Liszka. Janet (and her husband, Tom, of happy memory), moved to the Village and Sacred Heart Parish in 1995. She joined St. Anthony Guild and has taken on positions of responsibility in that guild. In the past she enjoyed her volunteer work at Mercy St. Joseph Senior-Net at McCauley Center AND as a tutor for 1st graders at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Benton. She has been chairman of ticket sales for the LOSH card party. She has been a Eucharistic Adorer since the inception of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in our parish (2013) and continues in that ministry. She currently volunteers as a tutor at Mountain Pine school (through her guild) and volunteers to bring and serve food at funeral meals. She has been on the education commission since 2018 and was the representative from that commission to the pastoral council for 2 terms (4 years). She has been our FORMED.org point person and provides information on what is offered from FORMED (At. Augustine Institute) regularly in our bulletin. As you can see, Janet has been and still is a busy "behind the scenes" person with and for the Lord in our parish activities and in the community. I am pleased that she was nominated as a VIP and was chosen for this acknowledgement and recognition. She is a wonderful encouragement to fellow parishioners to get involved in activities that are quietly and joyfully doing the Lord's work and making an impact on people in a variety of ways. God bless you, Janet. 

I was talking to someone, the other day, about the Easter Vigil liturgy and the fact that since I was 7 or 8 years old, I have not missed participating in the "holiest" and most "beautiful" night of the Church's year, except in the early time of the COVID pandemic when we did not have it since we were restricted from gathering for the Triduum. While I did the Holy Thursday and Good Friday liturgies that year with only a few helpers present and had them posted for people to watch and participate at home, I chose (in part for practical reasons) not to celebrate the Easter Vigil liturgy. Even if we had been able to livestream it, I don't believe I would have done it because one truly needs to be there to make it the blessing it is meant to be for those who "come" to it. To not gather in the "darkness" outside especially symbolic that night of death, and witness the Easter Candle been marked with symbols of Christ, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, to whom all time belongs; and to see the Easter Candle lit and focusing on that flame (light) as we walk behind it in the darkness, would mean missing something that makes the Easter Vigil so special and powerful. Our movements outside of church and inside of church bearing individual candles lit from the Easter Candle speaks to every person there that Christ is OUR LIGHT, who overcame and overcomes the darkness of death. With all the lights in the church turned on after the deacon sings "Christ Our Light" for the third time, we listen to the Easter Proclamation (also known as the Exsultet) as it beautifully proclaims the significance of God's plan of Salvation History and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ especially in and through His passion, death and resurrection. There are other unique visuals and actions for us to see and participate in that night that makes this liturgy "not to be missed" by all Catholics (though we recognize some can't come for health and other impairment reasons). Starting in the dark of night certainly means ending past some of our bedtimes (like me). I would hope that many of us can make this sacrifice out of love for the Lord and the blessings he gives us while we are there. As far as the liturgy being LONG, the Church (and I) would say that any and all time given to the Lord has the potential to bless us and others long after this unique liturgy is ended. I will honestly say at no point, no matter what age I was, did I hesitate to participate in the Easter Vigil because of its length. That speaks among other things of the impact it has made and continues to make on me. It ALWAYS makes me a little sad at the end of the liturgy that I have to wait another year (and this time more than a year, April 19, 2025) to participate in the "The Holiest Night" of the year the Easter Vigil!!! (Please read more about the Vigil in the handout we made available this weekend).