Apr 01, 2021

He is risen!

Indeed, He is risen!

Greetings,

A Happy and Blessed Easter to you! 

What a difference a year makes.  It pains me (seriously) to think back on last year at Easter and how we prepared to have the Triduum celebration without a congregation.  I think back on Good Friday and unveiling the Cross and tossing the cloths far enough to the side so that Karen Spangler could pick them up off the floor, out of camera range.  Or how we attempted to put on the Easter Vigil for a large online audience, which normally would require about one hundred people to pull off (including musicians, servers, sacristans, ushers and those in RCIA) with just two priests, three seminarians, a sacristan and a camera operator. 

Conversely, what a joy it will be to be able to open our doors at Easter once again and see how many people, who consider St. Sebastian not just their parish, but part of their family, returning to give thanks to God and celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Even though the obligation to return to Mass has not yet been reinstated, you return to the altar (in person or online) and in joy give thanks to God Who has given us more than our minds can even fathom.

If you are visiting today, Welcome!  What a blessing it is to have you here.  We are so blessed by your presence and it is my hope that we, in turn, inspire you to a deeper relationship with our Risen Lord.  If you are looking for a spiritual home, know that you are welcome here.

For those coming home for Easter, welcome home!  It is so good to see you again.  We pray for you.  May this time refresh your spirit and move you to love as Christ loves you.

And to the rest of the St. Sebastian family, this will be a challenging year in a different way than the past year has been.  I am amazed at how you have held together this past year despite the challenges of COVID.

Now that we think that we see the light at the end of the tunnel to this interesting time, it will be year of rebuilding.  There is much to do, much patience and understanding to be called upon, much healing and restoration to take place.  I call on each of us to keep our eye on the Resurrection of the Lord and to the life to which He calls us.  May we rise with Him from this harrowing year to be every closer, ever stronger, ever filled more with His Grace and Peace as we look forward to 100 years of this parish in just 7 short years away.

A special note to those who are not able to return to Mass yet.  You are in my daily prayers.  How I wish we could all be united under one roof.  How vital you still are to the life of the parish.  United in spirit, your prayers for the entire parish (and parish’s prayers for you) are what will give us the graces we need to make this upcoming year one that will strengthen our community and make God’s graces flow more abundantly thought our ministry here at St. Sebastian.

Thank you to everybody who helped make this Easter celebration so wonderful. 

May God bless you,

Fr. Valencheck