Dear Parishioners and Friends of Holy Spirit:

Allow Fr. Robert and I to be the first to greet all of you with a Joyful Easter!  I welcome everyone visiting with us during this holy season.   We are very grateful you have chosen Holy Spirit as your place of worship.

It is no coincidence that the theme of our Pastoral Plan is Radical Hospitality. And I have defined it simply,” to live as Jesus lived.” I am reminded of our pastoral plan because the gospel story tells us of Jesus’ encounter with Mary Magdalene, one of the faithful women who followed Jesus.  In their encounter, Jesus told Mary to “Go” to His friends and tell them that He is Risen.  I believe that Jesus’ command to “Go” is more than telling the apostles.  It is an invitation to proclaim the good news by living the truth about the resurrection.  The Risen Lord invited His disciples to bring Christ into the lives of others - to bring joy, hope, healing, forgiveness, and love.  

Our pastoral plan goes to the root of what hospitality means, namely, to make a home for the stranger.   Easter invites us to be a community filled with the Spirit of God, encountering the Risen Christ in all we meet, and to bring Christ’s embrace, forgiveness, understanding and love… to live as He lived.   Our pastoral plan challenges us to live out the true meaning of Easter.  As Henri Nouwen once said: “The Easter season is a time of hope. There is still fear…, but there is also a light breaking through.  Something new is happening….”  We are that light.  We are that hope if we live as Christ lived His life.

Christ is Risen indeed!   The power of the resurrection is experienced through us.  It is not just an event that took place more than two thousand years ago.  The resurrection is an on-going event.  God is always in the business of resurrection, offering hope and healing to a broken world.

Finally, I wish to thank all our many volunteers and ministers who helped to make our Easter Triduum truly a faith-filled, spirit-filled, and joy-filled celebration.   

I join Fr.  Robert in praying for you and with you all.  May Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, protect us and guide us through our Easter journey.

Blessed Easter everyone!

Fr.  Ritche