Twilight Twitches

Dear Family,
Last Monday someone remarked, “Yesterday was certainly a great day for St. Sebastian parish.” His reference was to our celebration of Confirmation.
What a pleasure to have Archbishop James P. Keleher to confirm thirteen of our brothers and sisters. We had five adults and eight teenagers. That may not seem like a lot, but it is the largest Confirmation group we have had at least going back Annie’s arrival 21+ years ago.

Dear Family,
Presuming his permission, and because I am feeling less than inspired in the throes of a cold, I’d like to pass along a meditation that Fred Hanna, a professor of Music at Creighton University, wrote for the Daily Reflections publication of Creighton for today. (You can find them at Creighton Online Ministries.)

We are still basking in the joy of Easter as Luke reminds us of David’s promise, and the Lord’s promise, that someone (Jesus) would be raised and "exalted at the right hand of God.” Glory. And we are equally reminded in the psalm that “you will show me the path to life.”

Dear Family,
In 1935, the first Mass was celebrated in front of the image of the painting of Divine Mercy. Sister (now Saint) Faustina Kolawska, was present. With her personal revelations from the Lord, we came to understand the devotion to the Divine Mercy. She was told to keep a diary of what she heard from the Lord. One notation read:

“My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls. ... If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy.”

Dear Family,
Here we are on Easter weekend. We hear the wonderful echoes of the Easter Vigil service with the new fire, the Easter candle and the blessing of the new water that recalls our own immersion into the Body of Christ (even if someone poured a little stream over our heads.) We heard Paul ask the Romans,

“Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ...indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead ...we too might live in newness of life?”