Pastor Speaks
My Dear Parishioners,
Lent is a time of grace and renewal in Christ. It begins with Ash Wednesday, where ashes are imposed on our foreheads with the reminder, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” inviting us to repent and believe in the gospel. Lent is an inward journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Our parish’s vision statement is to connect people to God, to each other, and to outreach. To facilitate this inward journey, we start with retreats in different languages, pilgrimages, confessions, inner healing retreats, youth retreats, and 40 hours of adoration conducted by various communities and associations.
The culmination of Lent is the Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday where Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly.
My Dear Parishioners,
Lent is a time of grace and renewal in Christ. It begins with Ash Wednesday, where ashes are imposed on our foreheads with the reminder, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” inviting us to repent and believe in the gospel. Lent is an inward journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Our parish’s vision statement is to connect people to God, to each other, and to outreach. To facilitate this inward journey, we start with retreats in different languages, pilgrimages, confessions, inner healing retreats, youth retreats, and 40 hours of adoration conducted by various communities and associations.
The culmination of Lent is the Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday where Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly.
On Maundy Thursday, we’re invited to love God, love people, and serve the world. Good Friday focuses on Jesus’s crucifixion for love, while Easter celebrates the glorious triumph of life and love. This experience of love remains only an emotional feeling if not coupled with a true understanding of Christ’s love for humanity.
The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of Christianity. Referencing Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”
Easter is everything. Jesus’s death frees us from sin, and His resurrection ensures new life for us. Easter calls for celebration, but it’s also a time for prayer.
Just as we celebrate the Incarnation on Christmas and recall the cross during Lent, Easter is a time to rejoice in the empty tomb – Jesus’s resurrection. His rising from the dead fulfils Scripture’s promises, conquering sin and death. Without His resurrection, Jesus Desk would be seen as merely a prophet or teacher, not the Son of God, the Messiah. With His resurrection, Jesus opened heaven to all of us.
As Easter People, Alleluia is our song. Happy Easter to all parishioners! May everything we think, speak, and act be filled with love for God and neighbour. Today, as pilgrims in search of hope, we turn to you, Risen Jesus, for you are Life itself. It is only right, with all the mind, to praise You, Father, and Your Only- Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
-Rev. Fr. Lawrence D’Cunha OCD