On the first day of the week…  
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.  – The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John (20: 1-9)   
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 
Happy Easter! 
 
On this most solemn feast as we commemorate the Resurrection of Christ, know that each of you are in my prayers.  Despite our physical separation, we are united in the Hope of New Life in Lord Jesus, Risen from the Dead.  May the enduring wisdom of the Word of God and the abundant graces of Divine Mercy unite us in the Truth of the Resurrection of Christ!
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 
 
 
The intention for the Easter Sunday Mass that I will offer is “the People of the Parish.”  As your Parish Priest it is my privilege to offer the Holy Mass for each of you.  Note, this is listed as the ‘special intention of the celebrant’ – in the weekly bulletin – and this is accurate;  although I could offer the Holy Mass for a variety of good intentions, each one of you, the People of the Parish, remain my foremost intention during these most difficult days, on these most sacred days I have offered both of Holy Saturday Easter Vigil and the Easter Sunday Holy Masses for you all.
 
Hopefully all of you are able to take some time to pray, to reflect upon the Word of God, and to give thanks for the many blessings that you have received.  No doubt, some of the most significant blessings have been born from hardship, surprising circumstances, and uncertainty – at least for me – and this, in its own way, proves the depth of God’s Love.  In a small way, these blessings from trials are like a ‘small and subtle Easter’ for each of us: we have received the new life of blessings from what was thought to be a disaster.  In these terrible days of COVID-19 restrictions, may the Lord bless us with his graces that we may receive in abundance blessings and new hope in Christ through even these challenging times. 
 

Also, don't forget, today is day 3 of the Novena of Divine Mercy.

 
Bishop Gainer is Live Streaming Easter Morning Mass
 
Bishop Ronald W. Gainer invites the faithful to join with him, remotely, for Easter Mass at 9:30 a.m. at the Diocese of Harrisburg YouTube Channel.  This live stream of Easter Mass will be recorded and available for view after the scheduled Mass, further the “ digital Holy Week” with Bishop Gainer is available for your viewing as well.
 
I strongly recommend that all would prayerfully view the Easter Mass with Bishop Gainer, uniting ourselves through technology, prayer, the reading of Sacred Scripture, and our desire to offer our needs to our Heavenly Father at the Altar of Sacrifice to our chief shepherd’s offering of the Holy Mass on this most sacred morning.
 
As a guide, or if live streaming is problematic, here is a link to the Scriptures for Easter Sunday Mass – also, here is an at home liturgy with prayers and readings – and, be sure to pray a Spiritual Communion as you spiritually unite your time of prayer to the offering of the Holy Mass.
 
 
Easter Sunday – The Resurrection of the Lord
 
The Resurrection of the Lord is the defining event of our Catholic Christian Faith. The Risen Christ, bearing the glorious wounds of the Passion, is the Savior of all humanity.  Like no other event in all of human history the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus has transformed the reality of every person, resulting in our own hope to live for eternity in Kingdom of Heaven.  Today, Easter Sunday, is a day of extraordinary importance, magnanimous significance, and amazing impact – the Crucified Christ is the Risen Lord, and this has changed everything for everyone.
 
As you pray with Bishop Gainer, or pray and read the Sacred Scriptures for today’s Holy Mass, you will notice the surprising joy in the Gospel Passage.  Please, consider how Mary Magdalene who was filled with sadness and grief only to discover that the most unexpected and unfathomable had happened: the tomb was opened and crucified one is alive!  I urge you to enter into this moment, to give some consideration this bewildering moment – sealed and guarded tombs are not opened, the dead do not get up and walk – so as to more deeply entrust your whole life to the Truth of the Risen Christ.
 
Yes, Easter Sunday this year will be bizarre, even uncomfortable, without gathering together within the Church’s liturgy, the beautiful music, many Easter Lilies, and familiar Easter Hymns, and deprived of the goodness of seeing one another and large family dinners.  But our hearts can be filled with the Word of God and our and the joy of the Risen Christ even in these strange days.  In the midst of so many frustrations, disappointments, and uncertainties, we must seek to accept the graces that the Lord is offering to each of us.   It remains my continued hope that these challenging days will be a true time of growth for each of us, to increase friendship with God.
 
Finally, I hope each of you has been receiving our Parish Letters in the US Mail (the most recent should have arrived by Wednesday or Thursday).  These physical mailings are a more complicated  production with so many restrictions, but are the best way to reach all members of the parish (especially those for whom access to the internet is problematic or impossible).  For your convenience, the letters and attachments are scanned posted the mailings on our Parish Homepage in the purple box with Parish News.  To this end, I would encourage each of you to read over Bishop Gainer’s Easter Letter, it was enclosed in the most recent mailing. My own Easter Letter to the Parish will be printed, prepared, and mailed this week.  Thank you to the many of you who have been so kind in response to our Parish Letters – your many prayers and support continues to be a great source of consolation during these strange days!
 
 
A final – few – words …
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 
Today, for me, is a day when our current restrictions and limitations are most difficult – no doubt, I understand the cautions and reasons – and yet, I remain filled with hope in the power of God to overcome any hardship and every trial.  If the grave could not restrain the glory of the Son of God, then restrictions for the common good cannot contain the glory of our Easter Faith.
 
We are a people of the glorious Easter Faith!   Our Faith is not merely built upon the preaching of Christ or His many healings and miracles, nor is our faith limited to the amazing birth in Bethlehem, amid so much poverty and hardship, nor can it be summarized with events of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday.  No, not at all!  Our Faith proclaims Christ, Crucified and Buried, is Risen!  Our Lord has conquered sin, death, and the Evil One through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection!  Our Easter Faith fills us with hope, when by any conceivable earthly way of thinking all options are exhausted – our faith is not of this age.  Rather, we must anew surrender ourselves to the Love of God – the Love that has redeemed us.  What we believe is that the Lord our God has dominion over all, without exception.  Our Easter Faith means that death itself is not stronger than the Love of God.
 
Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, Indeed!
 


Through prayer, listening to the Word of God, and our Easter Faith each of us can choose to seek the Lord Jesus in this moment, in these difficult days.  All the more so on Easter Sunday, I affirm again, that I have great confidence in you, and I have no doubt of the abundant graces that God will pour out upon those who seek his mercy. 
 
Please, continue to pray for the swift end to this public health situation and the recovery of health for the sick.  Also, please keep medical professionals, leaders, those who serve the common good, and vulnerable persons in your prayers during these challenging days.  Let us entrust ourselves and our petitions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.
 
 
 
Know of my prayers for you, please pray for me!
 
Father Wilke
 
Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us!