Easter Sunday and the Easter Octave

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Archbishop of Constantinople and Early Church Father, Saint John Chrysostom wrote in the third century:

O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen and you are abolished. Christ is risen and the demons are cast down. Christ is risen and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life is freed. Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

Indeed Christ has risen and he comes to us as he came to the first disciples, and we are called to open our hearts to the risen presence. Yet, our belief starts with the empty tomb which announces the stark reality of death. This empty tomb sends us out, just like the apostles, to announce something new, that Jesus has risen from the dead. Only when the risen Lord repeatedly comes to us, does out own belief and meaning of the empty tomb continually grow.

Our celebration of the resurrection of Christ is a celebration of joy and hope. We are challenged to become more aware of Christ living in our presence and Christ being present in our daily lives. Through our baptismal anointing and identity as the body of the risen Christ, we can claim that death no longer holds us bound to sin, and death does not hold us in its grip. The final word is risen life. In Jesus Christ death is overcome. In Jesus Christ each of us is invited to share in immortality.

As our hearts are turned toward the risen Jesus during this Holy Season, let us continue to make Jesus present in the lives of all the people around us, in order for those who don’t know Christ, to see the risen Christ in us.

This Easter, I want to especially thank all those that are a part of our Liturgical team here at STHY. Liturgy is the great work of the Church, and with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, we at STHY are working to make sure that Liturgy is done respectfully and properly in accordance to the norms that have been set down by the Church.

STHY is blessed to have an incredible amount of faithful people that are part of our Liturgy for Easter: Altar servers, acolytes, Readers, singers, musicians, cantors, ushers, sacristans, greeters, Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist and Liturgical Environment team members , and  all contribute to making the Easter Liturgy here at STHY bear fruit in the lives of so many people.

I want to give a special thanks to Mrs. Pamella Pittman our Director of Liturgy and Music, our Liturgy Assistant Mr. Elizabeth Arrigo, along with our entire multitude of choir members and musicians who have brought us wonderful songs and music to our Easter celebrations.

As we continue our Easter celebration, please join us for a wonderful evening of celebration with the Easter Cantata which will be held on Sunday April 3^rd at 5:00 pm in the Church. Come Touch the Robe by Pepper Choplin et al , will be performed by our own Music Ministry Choir and directed by our Director of Liturgy and Music, Pamella Pitman. Musicians from all over the Archdiocese will be part of the presentation. Please come to the concert and support the music program here at STHY.

It helps us relive the events that unfolded in Jerusalem two thousand years ago, but it also places them in the flow of God’s dramatic, eternal story of redemption.  In the process, it engages our mind, heart, and imagination with a story that is simple, yet profound. Please come to the concert and support the music program here at STHY.

What makes Easter special in the life of the Church is how the Church itself is prepared for the celebration. I want to thank our Liturgical Environment team and a host of volunteers from various other ministries in our parish, for decorating the Church for our Easter celebrations. The Church looks beautiful and thank you all for your time and effort that has allow us to celebrate Easter in an atmosphere of prayer and worship.

I want to thank Ms. Barbara Mackie our Director of Faith Formation and Evangelization, Mrs. Pamela Johnson, Associate Director, Administrative Assistant Ms. Amy Tangle, Our Coordinator of Youth ministry Mrs. Debie Tribble, Deacon Frank Berntsen along with our team of Catechist and Sponsors for their work of religious formation in R.C.I.A. Congratulations goes to the people that were brought into full communion with the Catholic Church this Easter Vigil.

Finally, as we start the Easter Season, I want to empress upon the faithful that St Hyacinth conveys love, compassion and grace of Jesus to many people every day of the year. Your capital campaign pledge will continue to enable STHY to minister to the needs of all who come through our doors for the next 50years and beyond ; and will allow us to look to the future needs of our Church and community.  Because of people like you, STHY’s powerful legacy will continue.

We can’t embark on this renewal project of our parish without everyone joining us in the effort.  This will be one of the biggest steps St Hyacinth has ever taken. We need everyone to continue to pray about our faith journey to build Faith, Family and Future.

The parish offices will be closed on Easter Monday, March 28^th  in observance of Easter. On behalf of all the Staff here at St. Hyacinth we wish you all a Blessed Easter!

Christ is Risen! He is truly Risen! Alleluia!

God Bless,

Fr. Reginald Samuels