St. Ignatius Martyr Parish

I begin my letter this week by welcoming all who are visiting with us for the first time. We are happy that you could be with us to celebrate this great feast of Easter. I invite you to come back to worship with us again. Please take home a bulletin to learn more about us and to become familiar with Mass times and more. Also visit our website www.st-ignatius.org

May God bless you and your family with an Easter season filled with the light and joy of Christ's resurrection.

"He has been raised; he is not here." Jesus is no longer in the tomb. He has conquered sin and death and now lives at God's right hand in glory. His suffering, death and resurrection have brought him to the glory he spoke of many times to his disciples and to those who would listen.

He is not in the tomb. He lives in us, the people he redeemed. As Easter people we must continue to live the paschal mystery, that is, we must daily die to self and be raised to new life in Christ. We have been set free; death no longer has power over us. We give witness to the new life we have received in Christ by rising from our tombs of sin and evil. With hearts open to the risen Christ, we allow ourselves to be sent forth to proclaim the Good News of God's love and help build God's kingdom on earth, a kingdom of peace, love and justice.

As redeemed people we are called to live and give witness in our time and place to all that Jesus did and said. When we forgive others, stretch out our hand to help another, and allow the Risen Christ to encounter us in our daily lives, we give witness that we truly believe that we are dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. We give witness, both in joy and pain, to our unshakeable hope in the Risen Christ who has overcome all for our sake and for the world. "He has been raised; he is not here."

When we follow Jesus, carry his message of love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion, when we live Jesus here and now we carry within ourselves the promise of new life and proclaim outwardly that the Risen Christ is alive in us. We live the ongoing message of the Resurrection itself - we are people of the light whose lives reflect that light in all we say and do. As long as we live this Truth of the Resurrection we, too, will be raised to eternal life in the glory of God the Father. So what are we waiting for? The stone has been rolled back. We are free, so let's get going and as we do let us proclaim: "We are Easter people and alleluia is our song."

OTHER ITEMS: 1) Many thanks to our liturgy committee, pastoral team, pastoral council, music ministers, Eucharistic ministers, lectors, altar servers, ushers, greeters, office staff, maintenance/janitorial staff, liturgical environment committee, set-up people and anyone else who helped to make Holy Week, the Triduum and Easter a special time to celebrate our faith in Jesus Christ. Thanks also to Kathy Hymel who made the large Lenten banner. 2) I would like to invite the men and women of the parish to participate in our parish retreat Christ Renews His Parish. The men's retreat is April 19th and 20th and the women's retreat is May 3rd and 4th. Retreat flyers and application forms are located in the display racks. 3) Ministry Leaders: Remember to RSVP for the retreat this coming Saturday, March 29th 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Joe