Father Mario Basque’s Message to Parishioners
“Holy God, you compare your own love for your people to the love of a mother for her children. Look with kindness on these mothers, give them comfort in moments of sorrow, and joy in their work for their families. Listen to their prayers and bless + them in all they do for you. Let them share with Jesus your Son and Mary our mother in the everlasting happiness of heaven. Father we ask this grace through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
We have just celebrated the 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. The Church has placed a special emphasis on Mercy in the 21st century. Pope Francis announced a Holy Year of Mercy (Dec. 2015- Nov. 2016) to “offer more evident signs of God’s presence and closeness” and wrote “The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church.” Benedict XVI and John Paul II shared this vision by instituting the Feast of Mercy, canonizing the ‘Apostle of Mercy,’ Sister Mary Faustina Kowalska and writing the encyclicals “Rich in Mercy” and “God is Love”. Truly, the Church is calling upon the faithful to reflect upon this holy concept.
We need Easter, Jesus is resurrected. He is risen to new life and wants us to share in that resurrection. During these difficult times due to the COVID-19 crisis, we are experiencing fear, anxiety, boredom, financial issues etc.. These are dark times, but we have the hope and confidence of new life in the resurrection of the Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ. This new life is not only for us now, today, but forever. The Good News is that we will live forever if we abide in Christ. We do not die but live forever. Jesus has conquered death once and for all. Jesus by dying on the cross has opened heaven. We receive the forgiveness of sin and will eventually have a resurrected body like Jesus, physical but perfect for all time. Knowing what our future will be, will help us to have hope and strength and to deal effectively with our current situation because we can put it in proper perspective.
Hello my fellow parishioners! I want to give you an update of what is happening in Holy Name Parish since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We had the Bishop’s pastoral visit at Holy Name Parish from Friday, February 28to Sunday, March 1, which went very well.