April 27, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Once again, a happy Easter to everyone. As we continue with this special season, we mark Divine Mercy Sunday this weekend. Sunday is the final day of the Divine Mercy Novena, which started on Good Friday, and we’ll have special devotions at 9:30am in the church to observe it publicly. Just before this bulletin went to the printer, we received the heart-breaking news of the sudden passing of our beloved Pope Francis, due to a severe stroke. Although he had been very sick in February and March, it had seemed that he had turned the corner, so his passing comes as a double shock. In gratitude for his lifetime of service to the Church and 12 years of tireless labor as the Successor of Peter, we commend him to God’s mercy. The very first thing he did as pope after his election in 2013 was to ask for our prayers, and we will certainly lift up his soul in prayer in the coming weeks, along with the whole Church. When I received the news, my mind immediately went back to when the sainted Pope John Paul II passed away in 2005, which was also during the week after Easter, when many people are praying the Divine Mercy novena. I take it as a sign of God’s purposes that this week has been marked by the Lord calling two popes to eternal life during this time. By experiencing how God’s infinite mercy reached us through his Son’s death and rising, we can face the most difficult and tragic experiences of our lives with a spirit of faith and hope. Even if you’re not able to join us at the parish Divine Mercy devotions, I’d encourage everyone to add one of the great prayers of the Chaplet to your devotions this week. Here’s a favorite one of mine: “Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen.” Through the intercession of Blessed Mary, the Mother of Mercy, and St. Thomas, our patron, may we all experience the Lord’s Divine Mercy in the holy season of Easter. God bless,

Father Jantz