A Word from Fr. Mark

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Happy Easter!

You are reading this at the beginning of the Easter Season. Since Easter Sunday is behind us it would be easy to lose sight of the fact that for the next 50 days we will be celebrating the holy Season of Easter. Instead of losing sight of this Season, let us reflect on its meaning and implications.

This Season began as the Jewish Feast of Passover. The Passover is the Feast in which the Jewish people celebrated and continue to celebrate the liberation of Israelite slaves from their captivity in Egypt. Jewish Christians celebrated the Feast of Passover along with the deliverance of Christians through Jesus’ passing over from death to new life. Very early this deliverance was celebrated not only through words but also through the deliverance from sin and death in the waters of baptism. At the Easter Vigil the Church continues to celebrate this new life which comes through the waters of baptism. The Season of Easter continues to be a time in which we celebrate our liberation from sin and new life through the waters of baptism.

During the Easter Season the first reading of each Sunday Mass is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. The readings and their meanings help us to understand the Easter Season. The readings focus on salvation through faith in the risen Christ, the vibrant faith life of the early Christians, the call to initiation into the Christian community through baptism, the call to ministry and the prayer of the early Christians in preparation for the reception of the Holy Spirit. The readings from Acts portray a community that was filled with the Holy Spirit and who fully lived out their faith. The readings challenge us to use this Easter Season as a time to live out and to share our faith in a full way. As we approach the Feast of Pentecost let us pray for and desire the Holy Spirit as did the early Christian community.

The fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday. As is our custom we will celebrate our parish Mass and picnic on Good Shepherd Sunday which will be April 13. This year the celebration takes on added significance as we the celebration will focus on the 50th Anniversary of the founding of our parish. We will begin our celebration at the 11:00 am Mass and continue with our parish picnic in the school gym.

During this Season of rejoicing in the new life and transformation which have come through the death and resurrection of Christ let us pray that God continues to bring new life and transformation to our church community.

Fr. Mark Watson

Pastor

The Church of Jesus the Good Shepherd


	Father Mark Watson, Pastor Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church & School	Close Window
	Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Easter! You are reading this at the beginning of the Easter Season. Since Easter Sunday is behind us it would be easy to lose sight of the fact that for the next 50 days we will be celebrating the holy Season of Easter. Instead of losing sight of this Season, let us reflect on its meaning and implications. This Season began as the Jewish Feast of Passover. The Passover is the Feast in which the Jewish people celebrated and continue to celebrate the liberation of Israelite slaves from their captivity in Egypt. Jewish Christians celebrated the Feast of Passover along with the deliverance of Christians through Jesus’ passing over from death to new life. Very early this deliverance was celebrated not only through words but also through the deliverance from sin and death in the waters of baptism. At the Easter Vigil the Church continues to celebrate this new life which comes through the waters of baptism. The Season of Easter continues to be a time in which we celebrate our liberation from sin and new life through the waters of baptism. During the Easter Season the first reading of each Sunday Mass is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. The readings and their meanings help us to understand the Easter Season. The readings focus on salvation through faith in the risen Christ, the vibrant faith life of the early Christians, the call to initiation into the Christian community through baptism, the call to ministry and the prayer of the early Christians in preparation for the reception of the Holy Spirit. The readings from Acts portray a community that was filled with the Holy Spirit and who fully lived out their faith. The readings challenge us to use this Easter Season as a time to live out and to share our faith in a full way. As we approach the Feast of Pentecost let us pray for and desire the Holy Spirit as did the early Christian community. The fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday. As is our custom we will celebrate our parish Mass and picnic on Good Shepherd Sunday which will be April 13. This year the celebration takes on added significance as we the celebration will focus on the 50th Anniversary of the founding of our parish. We will begin our celebration at the 11:00 am Mass and continue with our parish picnic in the school gym. During this Season of rejoicing in the new life and transformation which have come through the death and resurrection of Christ let us pray that God continues to bring new life and transformation to our church community. Fr. Mark Watson Pastor The Church of Jesus the Good Shepherd