Beloved in Christ,

Jesus is risen! "This is the day the lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad" (Ps 118: 24). Early in the morning on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala, and later Peter and John, in that order,  went into the tomb where Jesus was buried and found it empty. His body was not present in the tomb. The empty tomb signifies and tells the story of our justification- his resurrection redeems our lives lost to sin. The disciples came to believe in the resurrection of Jesus when they found his tomb empty. Jesus has bodily risen from the dead. Jesus rises, and so shall we rise with him! Alleluia!!

We should make a big deal out of this sacred event- the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus, who suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried on Good Friday, is now alive! St. Peter recalls his death and resurrection in his sermon in the Acts of the Apostles, "They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day..." (10:40). The resurrection of Christ is a fantastic act by the mere fact that he who was put to death for our sin defied death and, in fulfillment of the prophets, is now alive to die no more.

Jesus died, and he rose, and so what? It has consequences for all who die in Him because now they will live in Him forever; death will never have the last say on them. The good news of the resurrection of Jesus also has additional consequences for all believers. Now that we are risen with him in baptism, we must seek him who is in heaven. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Col 3:1). From now on, we must bear witness to the risen Christ. We are now witnesses to the risen Christ. We must continue to reflect on what the call to become witnesses of the resurrection of Christ means for us in the next fifty sacred days of the Easter season and beyond- into Pentecost.

But for now, on this Easter morning, let us offer "a joyful sacrifice of praise" to the Paschal Victim (sequence) because He is alive; death did not have the final say! Easter is, above all, a joyful season. According to St. Athanasius, "The fifty days from the Sunday of the Resurrection to Pentecost Sunday are celebrated in joy and exultation as one feast day, indeed as 'one Great Sunday.' "  For the next fifty days and into Pentecost, May Jesus always be alive in us as we strive daily to witness the power of his resurrection by living our lives in Him and for Him.

Do keep in mind the ongoing novena to Divine Mercy. We will conclude the Octave of Easter with a parish celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday devotion starting at 2:30 p.m.


The Lord is risen! Shout Alleluia!!

Happy Easter!!!

​Beloved in Christ,
 
"Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2: 8). Palm Sunday begins Holy Week, a period of intense commemoration of Christ's passion. This Sunday, we highlight Christ's Messianic entrance into Jerusalem to fulfill his Paschal Mystery. In the following days of the week, we will celebrate the several sacred moments of Jesus's last days, the Passiontide. 
 
The Chrism Mass will be celebrated on Monday at St Patrick's Cathedral (you are encouraged to attend). The Sacred Triduum begins on Thursday. We will celebrate the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, including the symbolic rite of the washing of feet, followed by veneration of the Blessed Sacrament till midnight. On Good Friday, we will have the service of the Passion of the Lord. A pious devotion, the Divine Mercy, will precede the liturgy of the Passion of the Lord. On the evening of Good Friday, our Youth Group will continue meditating on the passion of the cross with their portrayal of the Living Stations. The triduum continues on Holy Saturday with the Office of Reading and Morning Prayer. We will wrap up the Triduum with the mother of all Liturgies, the Easter Vigil.
 
The Holy Week offers us abundant spiritual space to open our hearts, souls, and minds to the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit as we prepare to celebrate the joyful feast of Easter. The choice is not ours. Will we make this year's lent the best of our life? Will we actively follow in the footsteps of Christ as we call to mind his passion? Will we surrender our entire being to the redeeming grace of Christ's passion? This choice is entirely ours. What is guaranteed is God's enduring love and mercy. God wants us to be transformed and renewed in our baptismal confession. God is ever ready to embrace us and increase his life in us. But, do we want to embrace the passion with Christ and become more Christlike, falling deeper in love with the Savior who loves us to his crucifixion and death? Will we allow Christ's death on the cross to be a waste or a blessing to us?
 
May you have the most life-changing Holy Week of your life.
 
In Christ's Passion,
 
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
 

​Beloved in Christ,
 
"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? Father, save me from this hour? (Jn 12: 27). Jesus, in this quoted verse, reveals to us his human tribulation at the thought of impending suffering and death. He was troubled at the approaching hour of his death and glorification. I was indeed troubled this past week when I got the sad news that a dear friend, Michael Culbertson, had died on the morning of March 12. His death troubled me for several reasons: he suffered from the pains of cancer for a long time, and I did not get to see or talk with him in his last days. I felt so pained because it was not too long ago that he lost his wife, Savi, also a very dear friend. Michael's death stunned me more than I expected, but the Holy Spirit, the comforter, soon made it clear to me that Michael's date was not a waste, and it was part of God's plan for him. He died in Christ, and he followed in the path of Christ: "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me" (Jn 12: 26). 
 
Following the death of Michael, as I grief and meditate on his life and impact on my life, and as I prepare for this week's homily on Christ's words regarding the approaching hour of his death and glorification, I have actively come to see Michael's death in light of Christ's death by crucifixion. Christ says, "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life" (Jn 12: 24-25). Michael's death has already begun to bear fruit.
 
 I have become more materially and spiritually aware of the importance of dying in Christ, of following in the path of Jesus. The importance of reflection and reading about death in Christ has deepened in me since the passing of Michael. I have gone over and over sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the passion and death of Christ. I have also read some other materials on the necessity and gains of losses. God's will and submission to his will are the most productive things when it is the hour appointed by God. It was Jesus' hour, just as it was Michael's, so it was okay. I have concluded. The most important thing is to be in Christ and die in Christ. To die at the appointed hour is part of the rhythm of human life. What may look like a loss is a gain in some ramifications for those who follow the way of Christ. As an anonymous author wrote: "Die before you die, so that when you die, you won't die." The death of a Christian seen in the light of the death of Christ gives a new perspective on the pain of loss. 
 
Let me conclude with a paragraph from the Catechism on the meaning of Christian death through the prism of Christ's death. Death is transformed and given a meaningful and productive meaning: "By his death he has conquered death, and has opened the possibility of salvation for all men" (CCC 1019).
 
Despite all I have said about the death of Christ and my friend, Michael, let's be joyful on this Sunday, St. Patrick's Day! Sunday is a joyful day, a proper day, even during Lent, to relax the Lenten penance and have a glass of Guinness. I will treat myself to one today. Do not forget to celebrate the solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Tuesday by attending mass and praying especially to St. Joseph, patron of a happy death. We shed our violet vestment for white at that mass and sing Gloria. Also, remember that next Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Let's intensify our Lenten discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving as we draw closer to the end of the conversion, purification and renewal season.
 
In Christ,
 
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP
 

 Beloved in Christ,
  
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3: 16). This most quoted New Testament verse emblematic of the essence of Christ's mission, invites our examination and consideration this Sunday. The quote derives from the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, in which the latter wanted to know more about Jesus and his mission. The primary fruit of the dialogue is the revelation to Nicodemus of the depth of God's love for all his created beings, which he demonstrated in permitting the suffering and death of his "only begotten Son" for their salvation. In answer to the question: How far will God go to save us from damnation to eternity in hell? Jesus provides the answer, to the greatest extent possible: by sacrificing what is the most precious to him, his only begotten Son. The Divine Act here is the definition of love.
 
The love that God has for us is beyond comprehension. No human mind can understand it. God's love for us is immeasurably and unfathomable because the object of love is our sinful humanity. St Paul reminds us of our state when God shows his love in giving us Jesus for our redemption when he wrote these words: "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us" (Rm 5:8). How can we remain unresponsive and uncommitted to God? What could make us still prefer to linger in darkness and refuse to embrace the light of truth that God cares so much for our salvation that He did the most astonishing thing to bring it about? His beloved Son will be allowed by God to die on the Cross to save us. What a mystery!
 
All that remains now is for us to respond to God's love by believing. To believe, to trust in God's sacrificial love is the way to redemption. To believe is to act, to do God's will always. Believing is to love God by surrendering our will and body to his sovereignty. Since the only way we can attain eternal life is to believe in Jesus, the only begotten Son of God offered for our redemption on the cross, and we have only one task in the world: to submit ourselves totally to God's will. Our entire life is and must be a continuous yes and act of love for God and his divine law. 
 
We must choose submission or our rebellious heart, soul, and mind to God. This is what the season of Lent helps us to do. It is a period of return and surrender to God of all we are: mind, body, and soul. The practice of Lent, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving will help us greatly in restoring our life from spiritual death to the path of eternal life. We should not miss the opportunity for what I call spiritual "CPR" during Lent: the conversion of the heart, purification of the soul, and renewal of the mind. 
 
Reflect on these questions as we enter into the second half of the season of Lent: Have I figured out more clearly the extent of God's love for me? How far have I pushed myself to give more to God in prayers and penance during this Lent? In addition to giving up things for Lent, am I also adding more time for prayers (for example, daily mass and rosary), meditation (praying the words of the Bible daily), and charity (reducing spending and giving extra towards the needs of the poor)? Am I aware of my sin and avail myself of God's generous mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation?
 
Have a Joyful Sunday! (Expect another joyous Sunday next week. Can you guess why? Wait for it!)
 
In Christ, 
 
Fr. Bernard Alayode, OP