April 6, 2022

Dear Friends,
Christ is Risen! Let us rejoice!

It is with great pleasure on my first Easter at Our Lady of Victory that I wish you and your family joy in Christ’s Resurrection.

The story of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection is the love story of our salvation. It is the account of our God-made-man who, motivated by the purest love, entered into our broken human world to conquer sin and death, reconcile us to himself, and offer us new and eternal life.

On this first Easter for our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (R.C.I.A.) participants, we welcome Megan Chasnoff and Graham Ritter as the newest members of our parish family. As we celebrate Easter, my prayer for them and for each of you is that you encounter Christ’s great love for you and live, joyfully and securely, in that love. If you have a family member or a friend who is interested in exploring the Catholic faith, please let me know. We would delight in inviting them to participate in the R.C.I.A. so that they, too, may receive the Sacraments of Initiation this time next year.

If you have been away from the Church for a while, I warmly encourage you to return home to Mass this Easter. If you are with us at Mass each week, I thank you for making Christ present among us. As Pope Francis proclaimed in his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), this Easter, I invite you “to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter [you].” “The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take
a step toward Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms.”

The Paschal Mystery instituted on that first Easter morning is the same Paschal Mystery we celebrate each time we gather together around the altar to hear God’s Word and share his Body and Blood. It is the same mystery of love that we are invited to live each day, in communion with the Sacred Trinity and in loving care of our neighbor. May we, as individuals and a parish community, rejoice in this Mystery, and joyfully witness to God’s love in word and deed to the world.

In gratitude for what we have begun over the past few months, I thank you. In anticipation of all we hope to renew in the months ahead, I welcome you to share your gifts and abilities with our parish.

Christ is Risen, Alleluia! Happy Easter!
Fr. Andy