Dear Friends in Christ,

On this Fourth Sunday of Lent, Christ draws us ever closer and deeper into the Heart of His Father, our Father in Heaven.  Christ unbars His Father's Heart, and lets an ocean of unfathomable mercies and love flow forth. As Christ's own Sacred Heart was pierced for our sins, His Father's Heart breaks open, beholding a perfect act of ultimate sacrifice, love and obedience so that we too might share in that divine love.

Moving halfway towards Easter, we might feel burdened  by the darkness of sin and evil within and around us.  We might feel overwhelmed by all the pain and suffering obscuring our lives.   This Fourth Sunday of Lent, also called Laetare or Rejoice Sunday, God calls us to take heart and put our faith in His great love for us. For, who can ever fathom the depth of God's love for us, who can ever comprehend His divine mercies? Each time we gaze at the Cross, we see the power and greatness of Love in its fullness - God our Father sacrificing His own Son for our sake, Christ offering His own life to save us from the wages of sin and death. What marvel unfolds in the Cross, that, just as the Father's most precious Treasure is lifted up, so do the gates of paradise open wide for us, pouring forth the rewards of eternal life with God. 

He longs to reward us with this everlasting treasure.  He longs to dwell in us, shower us with the riches of His saving graces, raise us up with Him, and seat us with Him in the heavens in Christ Jesus.  God longs to raise us up with Him each time we fall through the grace of His sacramental reconciliation.  God longs to bring us to eternal communion with Him through the Eucharistic Feast, a glimpse of heaven here on earth, a fountain of life, healing and graces. Here is where God's gift of the Divine Spirit sanctifies our good works done in the light, truth and love of Christ.  Here is where we become a handiwork of God. Here is where we are fashioned into the image and likeness of Christ. Here is where we are ransomed and sealed by His Most Precious Blood.

Seeking the grace of God and the intercession of our Blessed Mother who accompanied Christ Her Son on the Way of the Cross and remained with Him till the end, let us continue to fast from all darkness, sinfulness and evil, and feast on the light, holiness, and love of Christ.    

Rejoicing in Christ's blessings,

Rev. Jonathan Paala

Pastor

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, 
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish 
but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:16-17)