​Dear Brothers & Sisters,
 
There is an ancient homily on Holy Saturday from an unknown author from the first centuries that reflects on Christ’s death and resurrection that reads, “Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.” The author writes that Christ “has gone to search for our first parent, as for the lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve.” Jesus descent into the dead illustrates Christ saving those who have died since the beginning of human history. This is what the icon on the front page represents. It’s called “the Descent” or the Descent into Hades or by its Greek name “Anastasis.”
 
The resurrection of Christ that we celebrate today is preceded by his descent into the dead, those from below (inferos in Latin). Christ technically does not go to hell, but to the place where the just were awaiting the coming of the Messiah. In the Bible, this place is referred by it’s Jewish name, Sheol. In this icon we have Jesus reaching out to Adam and Eve. It’s interesting to note that Jesus does not hold them by the hand. According to tradition, he holds them by the wrist, signifying that we cannot meet God halfway. But when we reach out to God, He is ready to come to our rescue to take us to paradise. We are called to make the move to reach out to Him by faith, and he will take care of the rest. David and Solomon are represented on the right side next to John the Baptist who points them to Jesus. On the right side we have the prophets represented by Moses and Elijah and Abel the just man (holding the staff). Below Jesus, we see the doors of death destroyed by Christ. The Easter Hymn reads that “Christ has trampled down death by death.”  The icon depicts Hebrews 2:14, “that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”  The power of the devil and death have been destroyed through the life-giving death of our Savior. The figure that is bound is death or satan, defeated by Christ’s death and resurrection. The keys and chains scattered in darkness next to it represents the power of death to bind humanity that has been destroyed.
 
There are a few more details that some icons show better than others, but the main point is Christ that by dying comes to rescue those who are dead by sin, those who are struggling with addictions, those are “enslaved by the devil out of fear of death” (Heb 2:15), those who are awaiting the Messiah. He comes for everyone! That’s one of the greatest news that one can receive: CHRIST HAS NOT FORGOTTEN US! CHRIST COMES TO OUR ASSISTANCE! As the good shepherd he comes looking for those who may have strayed from the sheepfold, those who may have their faith/hope shaken recently, and finding us, he grabs us by the wrist to bring us into heaven. He does not give us a hard time, nor does he come preaching to us, but like the father of the prodigal son, he opens his arms, embraces us, and restores our dignity of children of God. His white vestments represent the light of the world that enlightens our lives. The same way which on Mt Tabor he was transfigured in front of Peter, James and John, today again he shines the glory of the resurrection on us. He allows us to experience heaven TODAY!
  
Finally Brothers and Sisters, this Easter Sunday is not merely celebrated for 24 hours. TODAY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY of the whole year! That’s why the Church celebrates Easter for 50 days, up to Pentecost. Some of the most important moments of the church happen now. We have 3 people becoming Catholics this weekend, a celebration of Divine Mercy next Sunday (Novena this week at 7:00pm), 80 children receiving first communion, 70 youths receiving confirmation, many, many children who will be baptized these days, also couples who will be getting married. It’s a season of Joy, Peace, and Life. Even nature experiences this Passover, passing from the death of winter to the life of spring! The days will get warmer and longer! I hope and pray that the Risen Christ may come to our lives and give us eternal life.
 
God bless,
Fr. Steven
 

Dear Brothers & Sisters,
 
Covering Crosses and Statues
You might have seen this week that all the sacred images and statues are covered since last Monday. The Church recommends to cover them after the 5th Sunday of Lent to help heighten our sense to build a longing for Easter Sunday. When we walk into the church and see things are different, we know something is about to happen. These last days of lent are meant to be a time of preparation for the Sacred Triduum and these veils are a powerful reminder to get ready.
 
Prayer, Almsgiving and Fasting
Since we are still in Lent, we are called to pray, fast, and give alms. We have prayed during adoration, the Triduum of St. Joseph, and at Mass, and will be doing a Novena for Divine Mercy everyday at 7pm, starting on Holy Saturday. For Almsgiving, I invite you to be generous in the offertory during Holy Week. All the collections of Holy Thursday will be towards IC Saint Vincent de Paul, on Good Friday we will help the Shrines in the Holy Land, and on Easter we be helping the Clergy Benefit Trust.  As Good Friday is a day of Fasting and Abstinence, we will be collecting food this week to help Marlboro’s Community Cupboard in the Walker building. They serve many people from our communities and, especially during these difficult times, they need our help. Currently they are in need of diapers and baby wipes, dish detergent, hot cereals (sweetened cereal), cooking oil, sugar, mixes for cake, muffin, pancake, Jell-O, pudding, Spaghetti O’s, raviolis, spaghetti and meatballs, hash, chili, corn, crackers (all varieties), cookies, granola bars, popcorn, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and jellies. Look for a box at the entrance of the church where will be collecting all these goods. May God bless your generosity.
 
Church Seating
Some people have inquired about the seating in the church. We currently can safely accommodate over 100 people in the church at a time without the choir loft. We don’t have an exact number, because it depends on how many people come from the same family. During the Triduum we have increased the number of masses we will be ready to have overflow masses if necessary. We ask you to follow the instruction from the ushers for these coming days. The current regulations from CDC allow children to be 3ft from each other in the classrooms. The archdiocese has instructed us to two arm’s length for the distance. This will allow us to increase the capacity in the church in a safe manner.
 
 
   God bless,
   Fr. Steven
 ​

​Dear Brothers and Sisters,
 
As we enter into the final weeks of Lent and then go into Easter, we are working to provide a safe preparation with overflow and social distancing.  We are finalizing the minor details of the Easter Schedule and will publish it next week.  The Holy Week Schedule is below.  Stay tuned.
 
God bless,
Fr. Steven
 
Palm Sunday - March 28
 
7:30am   Upper English
9:00am   Upper Portuguese
9:00am   Lower Portuguese
11:00am Upper English
11:00am Lower English
1:00pm   Upper Spanish
1:00pm   Lower Spanish
5:00pm   Upper English
 
Holy Thursday – April 1
 
8:00am Morning Prayer
6:00pm Upper English
6:00pm Lower English
7:30pm Upper Brazilian
7:30pm Lower Spanish
12:00am End of Adoration
 
Good Friday Passion of the Lord – April 2
 
8:00am Morning Prayer
2:00pm Stations of the Cross - English
3:00 & 6:00pm English
7:30pm Upper Brazilian
7:30pm Lower Spanish
 

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

 As you may have read back in December, Pope Francis has proclaimed the "Year of St. Joseph" on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church by Blessed Pope Pius IX. Since on Friday we will celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, I would like to share with you a reflection by Pope Benedict on this important figure. In order to prepare ourselves for this celebration, we will have two day reflections on St. Joseph starting Wednesday at 6:00pm. Please see the details on the following page.
 
God Bless,
Fr. Steven
 
By Pope Benedict XVI
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
3/19/2010 (1 decade ago)

ROME (Catholic Online) - On the Feast of St. Joseph, a patronal feast for our beloved Pope who, before taking the name Benedict, was Joseph Ratzinger. We offer our readers excerpts from this address given by the Pope on December 18, 2005: in an Angelus Address:

Pope Benedict XVI on St. Joseph, The Just Man
​
"I would like today to turn my attention to the figure of St Joseph. In today's gospel pages, St Luke presents the Virgin Mary as "engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David" (Lk 1:27). However it is the evangelist Matthew who gives the greatest prominence to the putative father of Jesus, pointing out that, through him, the Child was legally inserted in David's line and thus he realized the Scriptures, in which the Messiah was prophesied as the "son of David".

"But Joseph's role certainly cannot be reduced to this aspect. He is the model of the "just" man (Mt 1:19), who in perfect sympathy with his spouse, welcomes the Son of God made man and guards over his human growth. For this reason, the days leading up to Christmas are as good a time as ever to establish a sort of spiritual conversation with St Joseph, because he helps us to live to the full this great mystery of faith.
"The beloved Pope John Paul II, who was very devoted to St Joseph, left us an awesome meditation dedicated to him in the Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos, "Guardian of the Redeemer". Among the many aspects it highlights, particular emphasis is placed on the silence of St Joseph. His is a silence permeated by contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of total availability to his divine wishes. In other words, the silence of St Joseph was not the sign of an inner void, but on the contrary, of the fullness of faith he carried in his heart, and which guided each and every one of his thoughts and actions.

A silence thanks to which Joseph, in unison with Mary, could be the guardian of the Word of God, known through the Sacred Scriptures, coming face to face with it continuously in the events of the life of Jesus; a silence interwoven with constant prayer, prayer of the blessing of the Lord, of adoration of his holy will and of unreserved trust in his providence. It is no exaggeration to say that it was from his 'father' Joseph that Jesus acquired - on the human level - that robust interiority which presupposes authentic justice, the "superior justice" which He would one day teach to his disciples (cfr Mt 5:20).
 
Let us allow ourselves to be "infected" by the silence of St Joseph! We have much need of it in a world which is often too noisy, which does not encourage reflection and listening to the voice of God."