Easter Faith, Easter Hope

My dear brothers and sisters, may the grace and peace of God our Father be with you all.

Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, raised from the dead by that same gracious and provident Father.

Last year at this time, Easter came at a time of distress and great uncertainty in the world as a result of the emergence and rapid spread of COVID-19.

Since then, we have experienced increased suffering and death in our community, nation, and world, and for many of us in our own families.

Now, there is a sense of hope that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel to the great pandemic. Yet we are not yet free from this virus and its effects, as evidenced particularly by the fact that we, regretfully, are all still not yet able to worship together under one roof.

The resurrection narrative from St. John’s Gospel provides an apt reflection during this time of increased hope, yet lingering uncertainty.

We read in chapter 20 that even as the Beloved Disciple, at the empty tomb, “saw and believed” — as we see depicted on the front cover of our Easter bulletin — he and St. Peter still did not seem to fully “understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (verse 9).

As we celebrate the pre-eminent feast on our Christian calendar, I invite you to embrace the mystery of the Resurrection. For even as Jesus broke the chains of death in a most spectacular fashion, he did so at night, out of sight from his disciples and even his closest friends and family.

Even Mary Magdalene and the apostles had to believe that Jesus was risen from the dead — and all the wondrous and awesome consequences of such an event — before they saw him alive for themselves.

And God is inviting us to do the same.

To all of you who have as of yet been unable to re-join us for worship and fellowship in person, please know of our ongoing thoughts, prayers, and support for you!

Please, don’t hesitate to reach out if we can help in any way, big or small, including just a phone conversation or help with the livestream, at (651) 317-9685 or united@nativitystpaul.org.

We love you and we anxiously await the day — hopefully very soon — when we can all be together again under one roof.

Finally, please join me in this holy year dedicated to St. Joseph as we pray for his intercession for the end of the pandemic and for all whom it has impacted.

May St. Joseph, adoptive father of Our risen Lord, husband of Our Lady, hope of the sick, patron of the dying, terror of demons, and protector of Holy Church pray for us! (From the Litany of St. Joseph)

And may God grant you and yours his Easter blessing.

Fr. Patrick Hipwell, Pastor

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Originally published in the April 4, 2021 (Easter) bulletin