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!