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).

With the celebration of Laetare Sunday (The Fourth Sunday of Lent) we are over halfway through our Lenten journey and like any journey, there is always a destination to reach. Once we reach the end of that journey, we immediately begin another journey that is much shorter in length (about 72 hours), but is potentially so powerful in the spiritual effect that it can have on us that it has been called "The Great Three Days' (The Paschal Triduum). After celebrating Passion/Palm Sunday and the first three days of "Holy Week", Holy Thursday evening starts scripturally with the account of Passover when the destroying angel passed over the Jewish homes and they started their journey to freedom through the Red Sea. We then recall through the writings of St. Paul (1 Cor. 11: 23-26) his account of the Last Supper when Jesus spoke the words "This is my body" and "This cup is the new covenant in my blood", along with the command to "Do this in remembrance of me." When we come to Mass that evening, we should notice something different in that the tabernacle is empty of the Eucharist as we will consume the Body and Blood of the Lord that is consecrated at that Mass that evening as well as in the liturgy of Good Friday (which is the only day in the whole year when the Mass is NOT celebrated). At the Holy Thursday evening liturgy we "remember" Jesus' great act of humility and service when the Celebrant washes the feet of representatives of the parish and we are all called to "wash one another's feet" in humble acts of service for others. In this beautiful liturgy we sing the Gloria with the ringing of bells throughout and a silence of the bells until the Gloria is sung again at the Easter Vigil. The Holy Oils that were blessed and consecrated by Bishop Taylor earlier in the week at the Chrism Mass are presented at this liturgy and are placed in the ambry in the entryway into the Church proper for use in Baptisms, Confirmations, and for the Anointing of the Sick until next year's Holy Week. Finally, after Communion, there is a transfer of the Holy Eucharist to a special altar of reposition led by the cross and candles and incense and we are encouraged to stay for a while or come back for Solemn Eucharistic Adoration until Midnight. Regular Eucharistic Adorers are strongly encouraged to come for their Holy Hour and spend it in prayer either in the chapel or the church as we don't abandon Jesus during the Triduum as the apostles abandoned him after his arrest. The liturgy that started with song (at 6:30) concludes in silence with no blessing and dismissal as we normally do at the end of Mass. We depart quietly and the liturgy pauses until 3:00 p.m. on Good Friday). Next week's pastor's column will be a summary of what we can anticipate and prepare for, before coming back to church for the liturgy of Good Friday.