A Message from Our Pastor
A mystic once wrote "If I should pass the tomb of Jonah I think I would stop there and sit awhile because I was swallowed once deep in the dark and came out alive after all."

This reflects the theme of Easter which is an insight into the days of our lives. We die a thousand deaths and we rise a thousand times to new life. Every pain, every worry, anxiety, any experience which diminishes us is a dying. The life of the risen Christ is a call to prayer, an invitation to believe anew, a summons to faith. Jesus is risen and has conquered the world. The love of God has no boundaries, no limitations, no exclusions, and no ex-communication. We belong to a people of hope, realized hope. For this reason we sing our Easter hymn: Alleluia.

- Msgr. Connolly

Triduum Traditions Central to Faith, Celebrated by a People Called to Conversion
"The heart of our life as Christians in community is the annual celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ."

So begins this very special article written by Dawn Ponnet of Holy Family Church, Director of Faith Formation, as we enter Triduum this week. Dawn shares how the "history passes into mystery" and lives on in people "gathered in faith and gifted with the spirit of holiness."

We begin Dawn's article here, and it continues on our Holy Family website. As Dawn writes:

Our celebration of Easter is "of three days," and so, from Latin, we call it the Triduum. We end our Lenten fast with the beginning of the Triduum. The three days are: sunset Holy Thursday to sunset Good Friday, sunset Good Friday to sunset Holy Saturday, sunset Holy Saturday to sunset Easter Sunday. The rituals of the three days are central to our faith. Let us take a look at the Triduum, which is celebrated in three parts, as a holy season of three days.

We assume that Holy Thursday is about the day Jesus instituted the Eucharist; Friday commemorates the day of his execution on the cross; and Saturday night and Sunday, we commemorate his emergence from the tomb. We assume, in other words, that the paschal Triduum is simply springtimes's parallel to winter's Christmas.

As we gather on these days, the people of God are often thought to be engaged in acts of historical "reconstruction" that recreate scenes in the "upper room" on Calvary, and at the tomb. People are encouraged to imagine they are actually present at these events - comforting Jesus during his fearful watch in the garden, walking with him along the Via Dolorosa and witnessing his miraculous return to life on Easter morning.

But, is "history" the central focus? Certainly, our creed anchors our belief in history. In Jesus' agony and crucifixion, he did suffer under Pontius Pilate. Jesus' words and actions are tied to a specific time and place. Precisely because these faith-anchoring events are historical, however, they cannot be repeated or reenacted.

This is why the church's long tradition insists that what happened once as history passes over into the mystery of our liturgical-sacramental celebration. What the paschal Triduum - the three days - actually celebrates is mystery, not history; remembrances, not imitations. (For the complete article, see Triduum Traditions Central to Faith, Celebrated by a People Called to Conversion.)

RCIA - Through a Sponsor's Eyes
Allyson Simpson shares her perspective as a sponsor in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program.

I have always enjoyed helping others and being a mentor, so, when Dawn Ponnet invited me to be an RCIA sponsor for the first time a few years ago, I jumped at the opportunity. Little did I know at the time that I would become "hooked" on a program that, in my eyes, does as much or more for those who are already Catholic as it does for those who are seeking to join our Holy Family community.

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is a program that emerged in the decade following the Second Vatican Council to bring both baptized Christians from other denominations (i.e., candidates) and persons who had never been baptized (i.e., catechumens or the Elect) into the Catholic Church. It is neither a short nor an easy process. After several initial interviews with Dawn Ponnet, the parish RCIA director, those seeking full initiation into the Church go through about nine months to a year of weekly instruction and discussion sessions and several retreats and days of reflection and discernment. All of this preparation culminates with the sacraments of initiation (baptism and/or confirmation and Eucharist) during the very meaningful and richly symbolic celebration at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening. During the process, each candidate and catechumen/Elect journeys with a sponsor, who is there to answer questions, share discussion of Scripture readings and Church issues and be a shoulder to lean on.

As a Catholic from birth (a so-called "cradle Catholic"), I always thought I knew a lot about my religion, its history, celebrations, rituals and Scriptures, and, I probably felt smug at times about how good a practicing Catholic I thought I was. Being an RCIA sponsor has changed my viewpoint completely, has made me far more humble about the kind of Catholic I am, and has made me appreciate in a way I never did before the common humanness and yearnings we all share regardless of our background, age, gender or nationality. I have learned about what it means to make a true commitment to God, and have listened to, reflected on, discussed and broken open our Scriptures in a way that I had never experienced before. I have discovered how to really pray, both alone and together with others, and to share thoughts and feelings in an effort to make sense of the "deaths and resurrections" of life.

As we begin Holy Week and the final road to the sacraments of initiation for our candidates and Elect, I have to admit that I am excited all over again at the prospect of participating in the beautiful liturgy that is the Easter Vigil. Like our initiates, I am reborn through the light of Christ and my renewal of baptismal promises at the font, and am re-energized by their steadfast faith and joy.