April 19, 2020

Sunday of Divine Mercy

A very blessed Divine Mercy Sunday to all of you. We particularly wish to extend our sympathy and love to those who have passed during these days of isolation. Special Masses were celebrated and live streamed having  contacted the families of the deceased and expressing our extreme sympathy and prayers. We have offered live streaming Masses for all of these parishioners who died from March 15 to April 13:  
Martin Shish, 3/15;   Frank J. Masucci, Jr., 3/17; Filomena Buccirelli, 3/18;              Agnes L. Clark, 3/18;  Susan M. Jordan, 3/19;   Robert L. Brown, 3/20;                  Joseph S. Kulnis, 3/24;   Lily A. Blashak, 3/27;   Eugene Frank, 3/27;                        Ennio Strizzi, 3/28;   Ann M. Micaletti, 3/29;   David C. Pastore, 3/30;                    Norma Jean Fiorito, 3/30;          
Pasquale Anthony Piccirillo, 4/2;  Ralph A. Russo, 4/02;                                              Mary Therese Sovesky, 4/3;   Clara M. Coyne, 4/03;   Charles Masters, Jr. 4/3;        John J. Chmura, 4/4;   Patricia Ann Clobus, 4/4;    Joseph V. Bullano, Jr., 4/4;  
Julia Florence Bovo, 4/7;  and Vincie D. Greco, 4/8.

On this day, in which we recall the Lord’s mercy and His Resurrection, we pray that all who have recently lost loved ones will find great comfort and peace. Our Catholic Christian faith reminds us that we are only passing through this life. We are created, as St. Paul says, for a new and other existence! This is not our home. We have a home in Heaven with our Savior and all of our loved ones. That’s why we work so hard and pray so faithfully that we might all find our way safely to that kingdom of eternal life and joy.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, you may wish to pray as a family the Divine Mercy Chaplet found on our website or YouTube—go to www.hsplc.org, scroll down and click on the large banner across the page which reads “Holy Spirit Parish YouTube Channel.” Please take some time to remember your own loved ones who are now with the Lord. Please pray for them and rejoice in eternal life our Savior has won for us.

You can find a video explaining how Divine Mercy fits into history, both of the Church and war-torn Europe. The video is called Ocean of Mercy and is available at https://watch.formed.org/ocean-of-mercy/videos/ocean-of-mercy. FORMED is a Catholic web service available to Holy Spirit Parishioners for free at this time. If you need to sign up, see the instructions on page 8 of today’s bulletin.

Another resource is a presentation offered by the National Shrine of Divine Mercy featuring Fr. Chris Alar on his video, What to do on Divine Mercy Sunday  for      April 19 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btiU8-JeOag.

As I dictate this message, I do not know what the state of our corona virus restrictions will be when it is published, but I do know that our Savior, risen from the  dead, gives us great hope and promise for better days ahead! Pastoral staff is continuing to plan together with our Finance and Pastoral Councils for the day when we will come out from under these restrictions and be able to worship in person once again. I’m sure that those of you who are reading this message feel the same as we do, we can’t wait to see you in person once again!

Wishing you all the warmth, love and encouragement of this Easter joy as we continue to celebrate our Savior’s resurrection and Divine Mercy. 
God love you,