April 5, 2026
Dear parishioners,
A blessed Easter to you all! Celebrating today the Resurrection of the Lord, we enter into the discovery of new life that came from finding the empty tomb on the first day of the week. The apostles and many others with them, indeed- all Christians in the early Church, realized immediately with the Resurrection that the Temple was no longer the proper place of worship. There was a new form of worship; there was a new working of grace that surpassed the Law of the Old Testament. With the Resurrection, they knew that Jesus brought about a whole new dimension of life altogether. While they still hoped in the kingdom of heaven as Jesus revealed it to them, they also knew immediately that they already had a participation, by grace, in that kingdom while still on earth. The power of Christ was now being made manifest through the apostles, and through those living the Christian life. In a word, it was the reality of the Church in her early years.
This experience of encountering the risen Lord gave a new wisdom, by which the apostles and those with them now received a fresh understanding of the Old Testament in light of Jesus’ words and actions. One does not have to look far to see this on display. When Jesus walks with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.” (Lk. 24:27) Throughout Acts of the Apostles too, we increasingly see the same reality at work. When it came time to replace Judas among the apostles, Peter stipulates that, “it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22) Knowing Jesus’ words and deeds, and being a witness to his Resurrection- these were the qualifications for being an apostle. Indeed, they are the same qualifications for being a faithful disciple of Jesus, no matter what our calling in life is.
I hope you have a chance to celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death today with your family and/or friends. As we do, we keep in mind that the joy of this victory should stay with us all year long. Every time we receive the sacraments, we truly participate in the power of his sacrifice on the cross, and the glory of his Resurrection. The grace we receive in the sacraments conforms our mind and heart to Jesus’ own Sacred Heart; it is the sacraments that make it possible for us to concretely put the Commandments into practice and therefore to attain virtue, to please God, and to eventually obtain eternal life.
Looking ahead, please join us for our annual Divine Mercy Sunday devotions next Sunday afternoon, April 12! We will begin with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 1:00 in the Paulding church. At that same time, the sacrament of Reconciliation will be offered; I am very grateful that two of my brother priests will be joining me in hearing confessions that day. During the time of Exposition and confessions, our relic of St. Faustina will be on display and all present are welcome to offer an act of devotion or reverence to her relic; the most common way of making this happen is simply kissing the small reliquary. However, this is not necessary and the relic can be venerated without actually touching the reliquary itself. Then, at 3:00 we will begin our devotions. We will start with sung vespers at 3:00, and then we will proceed to the sung Divine Mercy Chaplet immediately after. Once the chaplet is completed, we will close the afternoon with Benediction.
Lastly- on a much different note- thank you to those who have been inquiring about the conclusion of my six-year term here at Divine Mercy, and offering your encouraging words. I am happy to share with you that I recently received the news from Bishop Thomas that he has granted me a second six-year term as the pastor of Divine Mercy Parish. I am very grateful for this news, and I look forward to the many ways Jesus will bless me by granting me more time with you!
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
