Notes from Our Pastor

April 21, 2019

Dear Parishioners & Guests, welcome!                                                                                                      Christ is Risen!                          He is Risen indeed! 
 
To all who gather at Seven Holy Founders Parish this Easter to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, welcome!  A special welcome to all of our guests: to those from another parish or from out of town, to those who are not of our Catholic faith, to our college students and young people home with your families, to anyone serving in the military, home on leave (thank you!) and welcome. 
 
Of course we rejoice in the many wonderful parishioners of Seven Holy Founders community who come to pray and celebrate Eucharist here week after week.  May the Lord bless us all with the power and life flowing from the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! 
 
Thank you to all who helped make our celebration of the Triduum so beautiful and inspiring.  Our parish is blessed with so many who live stewardship in their service as Communion Ministers, Lectors, Ushers, Servers, Choir Members, Cantors, Musicians, and members of our Worship Committee.   Thank you to those who cleaned and decorated church or helped in any way to prepare us for our celebration this week. 
 
Welcome to the newest members of our parish and church who were initiated at the Great Easter Vigil. Thank you to their sponsors, families and all who prepared them in their Journey of Faith in the R.C.I.A process. Those who received the Easter Sacraments are: Cynthia Carroll, David Hayden, Tera Nestor, Hannah Ploesser, and Andrew Shipp. 
 
 
Thank you for your example of faithfulness in your journey to the Catholic Church. Your love of God and desire to follow His will in your life is an Easter gift to us all! 
 
May God bless our Easter week with hope and peace! 

Fr. John

April 14, 2019

Dear parishioners: 
From all the triumph that comes with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, it is darkness that awaits Him by week’s end. It is not the strewn palm branches or the crowds approving shouts that proclaim Jesus’ ministry and message.  
 
Instead, it is the simple moments and the darkest hours. Only when the Son of God ties a towel around His waist to wash the feet of his disciples, does His commandment of love become clear.  
 
Only when Jesus dies, arms spread on a cross, is God’s love for the world made visible. Come enter into the Triduum, the Three Days, so that strengthened by His love, we can live His command of love. 
 

  Come on Holy Thursday to wash feet and feed on the gift of Jesus’ Body and Blood. Come on Good Friday to enter into His Passion and venerate the cross, that life-giving tree. 
 
Come on Holy Saturday to the Easter Vigil, to share Easter joy with the newly baptized, received, confirmed and professed. Come share in the love of God shown us in the suffering, dying and rising of His Son, Jesus!  
 
Come welcome our guests and celebrate with your parish family! 

In Christ,
Fr. John

April 7, 2019

Dear parishioners:

When we gather next weekend on Palm Sunday, we will enter into a week made holy by the
suffering, death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ! I ask you what I ask myself. What
will make Holy Week holy?
It will be a week marked by preparations for Easter gatherings. There are Easter baskets and
Easter egg hunts to prepare, menus to plan, guests to be invited. But will the week be holy?

Carrying through our Lenten resolutions can help make the week holy. Setting aside some
special time for prayer and reflection will help. Coming to the Sacrament of Reconciliation on
Wednesday morning or evening after 8:00am or 6:30pm Mass would be graced time. Coming to
the celebration of the Sacred Triduum is an invitation to holiness.

Plan to come to the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening, the Passion of the
Lord and the Veneration of the Cross Good Friday afternoon, and the Great Easter Vigil on Holy
Saturday.

One more thought on making Holy Week holy. Consider inviting a loved one, a neighbor, a
relative or friend to celebrate Easter Sunday with you here at Seven Holy Founders.

So many people are without a spiritual home. Deep in each of us is a longing for God, for life,
for hope.  A gentle invitation to Eucharist on Easter Sunday may help someone we care for find a
relationship with God and a warm and loving spiritual home!

In Christ,
Fr. John

P.S. Fr. Don and I will be hearing confessions on Wednesday, April 10th after the 8:00am
Mass and after the 6:30pm evening Mass until all are heard.

For more parish news and information, please check our weekly bulletin.