Dear Parishioners, Why did Jesus die for us? There are several reasons. In particular, this 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday), one of the gifts we receive is the gift of Mercy! We all make mistakes. We all have hurt others or done things that we regret. Even though we may say we are sorry to the person we hurt, it often doesn’t seem like we have done enough. Yet, with God’s mercy, we are shown the Divine aspect of mercy. How can someone forgive and forget so much? How is this even possible? It is all possible because of what Jesus did for us on that Good Friday. These weeks of the Easter season remind us of that. We are also reminded of the gift of the Holy Spirit. As we continue to celebrate the year of the Jubilee of the Holy Spirit in our Diocese, we realize how this is another gift that was given to us during this Easter Season. Like God’s mercy, we may not always understand how the Spirit is working in our lives. Yet it is always present, always helping us and guiding us towards the Kingdom. In the next few weeks, I ask you to pray for our youth who will be receiving their First Holy Communion or Confirmation. The next two Sundays, we will have special times to celebrate these Holy Communion days. The Sacrament of Confirmation is still a few weeks away, and this year, it will once again be celebrated with the Bishop at St. Augustine Cathedral. Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark