My Dear Friends,
Peace be with you!
These were the first words uttered by Jesus to the disciples after his resurrection. These were also the first words uttered last year by the newly elected Pope Leo XIV when he emerged on the loggia of St. Peter’s. The peace of the Risen Christ is needed now more than ever in our world which is hurting from so much violence. We pray that all our parishioners and visitors may feel the peace that only Christ can give as we gather for Easter Mass this weekend.
Today we celebrate our 100th Easter as a parish! I think about what that first Easter must have been like for Father Comber and our founding parishioners. This church did not exist nor did our old church next door. Most Masses were celebrated in the chapel of our school. Yet we stand here today because those pioneers wanted to make the life altering message of the resurrection known to all. They dreamed big! They set out to build this beautiful church, and now we are reaping the fruits of their labor.
This past year, this church has undergone extensive restorations thanks to the generosity of so many, and if you look up into our balcony, our new commissioned pipe organ is now fully installed. The builders finished on the morning of Holy Thursday, and now the work of voicing the organ begins in two weeks time.
The beauty that you see around you is the legacy we are leaving to future generations of Little Flower parishioners. A century from now when our great grandchildren gather to celebrate the parish’s 200th Easter, they will hear that pipe organ playing the Alleluia to celebrate the resurrection!
Now the question that I pose to all of you this Easter Sunday is this: what kind of spiritual legacy will we leave for future generations? We have labored intensely for the physical legacy to ensure this majestic church continues to be a beacon of hope. Now we must go share this good news of the resurrection with the rest of the world. I think back again to our founding parishioners. With limited communications, they had to go door to door to tell their neighbors that a Catholic parish was being erected in 1926. With so much technology at our fingertips, what are we doing to draw others to Christ and to bring them to Mass to encounter the Risen Lord in the Eucharist? We need to adopt the spirit of our founders as we begin the second century of the life of this parish. May our message be clear simple: Christ is risen! There is no greater message. It is transformative. It is the central message of the Christian. Let us go forth from this holy place and set the world on fire for the Risen Lord. Let that be our legacy!
Happy Easter!
God bless you all,
