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On Easter Sunday we heard from Mark. Last Sunday we heard from John. This Sunday we hear from Luke with another account of an encounter with the risen Lord on that first Easter Sunday. This Sunday’s Gospel begins with the two disciples who had encountered the risen Lord on the way to Emmaus recounting their experience to the other disciples. It is in the midst of their retelling, the risen Lord appears again to all present in that place. The story of the road to Emmaus involved the two disciples making a day’s journey to the town of Emmaus outside of Jerusalem. During the journey, the risen Lord joins them on the way but they fail to recognize him for who he is. After they recount for him the events of the previous days, he recounts for them how all that had taken place was necessary as foretold by the Scriptures. When they come to Emmaus, it is the end of the day yet the Lord appears to be going on further. The disciples invite him to stay with them. When they sit down to eat, the Lord breaks bread and in that moment they recognize him for who he is, he vanishes, and they then race back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples. Today’s Gospel takes up at this point. Luke recounts for us many of the same details in this appearance that are also recounted by the other Gospel writers: that the disciples were fearful, unbelieving, and that the Lord explained for them, again, all that the Scriptures foretold about him. This Sunday’s Gospel, as well as the story of Emmaus, gives us some important take-aways. First, both with the disciples journeying to Emmaus or those locked away in the upper room, the Lord draws near to them. He comes to them where they are: in their disbelief, their grief, and their suffering. Just because they do not recognize him does not mean that he is any less present to them. The same is true for us. Just because we do not recognize God’s presence among us does not mean that he is not in our midst. Second, Jesus does not just appear to the disciples and say “here I am so just believe.” No, he takes the time to openly lead them once again through the Scriptures that pointed to his death and resurrection. Like the disciples, Jesus helps us to put the pieces of life together, to bring clarity to the mysteries that surround us. This is why a living faith, a real relationship with Christ is vital. Jesus helps us to make sense out of the world we live in or to at least at times see things from the perspective of “I don’t get it, but I trust in you, Lord.” Third, he again commissions his disciples to be his witnesses because of what they have experienced and have come to know; it is the same for us. Again, our lives need to be a witness to the risen Lord and the difference that he makes in our lives; our lives also need to be an invitation to others to greater life in the Lord. The Resurrection is not the end of the story, but the beginning of a new chapter that calls us to mission with the help of the Holy Spirit. In the appearance following the Resurrection, the Lord makes it clear that he is counting on us to be his witnesses to the world. May we have the grace to experience the love of the risen Lord in such a way that we are not able to keep the joy of the experience to ourselves. Blessings to you and yours for the week ahead! Father Chris House

This Sunday concludes the Octave of Easter. An octave is a celebration of eight days in the Church and each day is honored liturgically in the same way as the day in which the octave began, in this case Easter Sunday. With the liturgical reforms of the late 60’s and early 70’s, only two octaves remain in the ordinary form of the Church’s liturgical calendar: the octaves of Easter and Christmas. While the octave may be finishing, the joy of the Easter Season continues on. I wish to thank all those who helped with our liturgical celebration of the Easter Triduum. The Gospel for this weekend, the Second Sunday of Easter, is popularly known as the Gospel of Doubting Thomas. Here our Lord appears to Thomas, and the other ten Apostles, and invites Thomas to see and probe his wounds so that Thomas might believe that the Lord is truly risen and that he is who he says he is. While the Lord’s body has been changed and glorified, the wounds from his crucifixion remain. Theologians have marveled over this reality for 2,000 years and posed various reasons as to why. As in the case of St. Thomas the Apostle, the wounds identify the Lord for who he is and they also tell us what death is not; death is no longer an eternal reality for those who live and die in God’s friendship. The marks of the Lord’s death remain, but death has no power over him, and through him neither over us. St. Leo the great says it more eloquently in a homily on the Lord’s Passion: He did away with the everlasting character of death so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity . As we continue our journey through this Easter Season, let us turn to the risen Lord to draw newness of life from him, remembering that the wounds and the scars of our present lives, painful as they may be, are only things of the here and now; in the Resurrection on the last day, when Christ makes us new, those things will be no more. Triduum and Easter Masses – Thank you! I am immensely grateful to all those who helped to make our Masses for Triduum and Easter Sunday so beautiful. Many thanks to our choir members and musicians, to our environment team, to our readers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, ushers, servers (who did very well with a unique set of rituals), and to all who came to worship. I hope that our Lord was pleased with the worship that we offered to Him during those most sacred days. I also want to offer a special welcome to our seven neophytes in our parish school who were fully initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. Let us continue to pray for them as the Lord enfolds them with grace and presence in their lives. Thank you also to Deacon Scott and those who helped to prepare them for their initiation. Divine Mercy Sunday Devotions This Sunday, April 7 th , is Divine Mercy Sunday. As in years past, the Cathedral is hosting the culmination of the Divine Mercy Novena with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, opportunity for Confessions, and Eucharistic exposition from 2PM to 3PM. All are welcome! Easter Wisdom We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery - the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!” - Pope St. John Paul II during his Apostolic Visit to Australia – November 30, 1986. Blessings of Easter joy & peace to you and yours for the week ahead! Father Chris House