Be Kind, Be safe, Be respectful, Be responsible, Be resilient, Be ready

Dear Parents

No matter how old you are, there is always a sense of wonder and fascination, when you come across a cicada shell still clinging to the bark of a tree. It looked dead but somehow you knew, that in some mysterious way, it was alive; the neat split down its back was from where the living creature inside had escaped and taken flight. You couldn’t actually see it anywhere but at some point, you would hear it singing away in some tree.

The cicada shell is a good analogy for the empty tomb that was found by the women then Peter and John on Easter Sunday. The resurrected, living Jesus, who had once been inside it, was gone. He was out amongst the living to whom he appeared several times. Every time he came to his friends, they became stronger, wiser, kinder, and more daring. Every time he came to them, they became more like him.

Now that Jesus was raised from the dead, the Apostles and disciples, his followers, were commissioned to give witness to his death and resurrection. After the coming of the Holy Spirit, they fearlessly preached what, previously, they had not understood. We see this clearly in the transformation of Peter, who went from misunderstanding the scriptures to interpreting them through the lens of the resurrection. We see it in Paul, who had set out to put Christians to death, only to become the champion of the fledgling church.

We Christians today are summoned to live, proclaim, and celebrate Jesus’ victory over death by resisting all those forms of death and violence that saturate our society and not only unjustly take the lives of innocent people but can desensitise our spirit and damage our belief in freedom and justice for all.

The Resurrection announced that human values cannot be extinguished by violence or death; no one can be forgotten. Here and now, God holds onto the lives of all the departed including the lives that have been wasted, violently cut short, and damaged by oppression. All have worth in God’s sight.

There are constant hints of resurrection in our daily lives, foretastes of our ultimate resurrection. These are found daily in our downs and ups, our sorrows and joys, our worries and relief, our disappointments and successes. Easter Sunday offers an opportunity to celebrate all our small, personal “resurrections” and unite them with Jesus’ Resurrection. It offers us renewal to be people of faith, hope, and love in our home and in our community.

Keep smiling

Cathy

EASTER MASS TIMES

Holy Thursday 28th March 7:30pm-St Mary's Cowes
Good Friday 29th March Stations of the Cross 10am-St Mary's Cowes & Our Lady Star of the Sea, San Remo, 9:30am St Joseph's Bass
Good Friday 29th March Celebration of the Lord's Passion 3pm- St Mary's Cowes
Easter Saturday 30th March Easter Vigil 7:30pm-St Mary's Cowes
Easter Sunday 31st March 9am-St Mary's Cowes, 11am- Our Lady Star of the Sea, San Remo

Reflection & Prayer

Prayer of the week

AmenPope Francis @pontifex