From the Pastor's Desk (4/19/26)

From the Pastor's Desk
4/19/26

Lord, Show Us the Path of Life
Loss. Heaviness. Heartache. Two disciples in today’s Gospel (Lk 24:13-35), on this Third Sunday of Easter, are going home. All their expectations and joys are gone. The mission is over. Their eyes are downcast. There is an ache in the pit of their stomach. Can you feel how disheartened they are? To understand the Resurrection as the first disciples did, we must first get inside their agony. And not just any death: Jesus’ death. In this scene, Jesus engages them in quiet conversation. Jesus is gentle. Each time he appears in the Resurrection stories, he looks different somehow. They had known him before. They do not recognize him now. They walked a long way together. Jesus gradually brought them out of their funk by recasting the story that they had been telling themselves. He gave them a fresh understanding of who the Redeemer was to be. Their hearts started to burn within them. Then in the breaking of the bread, suddenly their eyes are opened. They see! Awakened to joy, they turn and dash back to Jerusalem to tell the Apostles! We may sometimes think we are headed home. But our true homeland does not look like this one. The Word who became flesh transforms our despair into hope, our weariness into refreshment, our wanting to quit into perseverance, and our heartache into splendor. This is the meaning of the Paschal Mystery. This is the core of the Resurrection. This is the heart of the Christian story. (Living the Word, LPI)
 
A Prayer for The Third Sunday of Easter
Heavenly Father, how easily I forget. Help me to remember what you have done for me in Christ. Help me remember the means of grace you offer me through your Church. Wake me to the wonder of your well-fashioned world. Lord God, how often I plod along with the eyes of my soul either shut or downcast, indifferent to the needs of those around me. Give me eyes of compassion to see others as you would yourself. Amen. 
 
Why is The Easter Season So Long?
For many, Easter arrives with joy, celebration, and then quietly fades by Monday morning. The baskets are put away, the decorations come down, and life resumes as usual. But for us Catholics, Easter is not meant to be confined to a single Sunday. It is a season—long, intentional, and transformative. In fact, Easter is not just a moment to celebrate. It is a way of life to embrace. The Church calls this time the Easter Season, and it begins on Easter Sunday and lasts for 50 full days, concluding on the great feast of Pentecost. In 2026, this means the Easter Season ends on May 24, 2026. This means the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection continues for nearly seven weeks—far longer than the 40 days of Lent that prepare us for it. Why is Easter so long?  Because the Resurrection changes everything. If Christmas celebrates that God became man, Easter proclaims that death itself has been conquered. The Resurrection is not just one event among many—it is the central truth of the Christian faith. As St. Paul reminds us, if Christ is not raised, then our faith is in vain. But He is risen—and that reality reshapes every part of our lives. The Church, in her wisdom, gives us 50 days not because we need a longer holiday, but because we need time to enter into this mystery. The joy of Easter is too great, too deep, and too life-changing to be contained in a single day. The Easter Season unfolds like a journey. It means choosing life, joy, and faith, even when circumstances tempt us toward despair. To enter the Easter Season is to become witnesses of the Resurrection in our daily lives. In our homes. In our work. In our relationships. In our struggles. Easter is not something we move past; it is something we step into. It is the invitation to live as people who know that the tomb is empty, that Christ has risen, and that eternal life has already begun. Easter is not a day. It is a season of joy and transformation in the light of the Resurrection.
 
Triduum and Easter Attendance at MQSP
This year at our parish, we had 1,135 people in attendance for our liturgies on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Our Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday Masses had 3,079 people in attendance. Total attendance for both the Sacred Triduum and Easter Sunday at Mary, Queen of Saints Parish was 4,214. How beautiful it was to see our Easter liturgies filled with people celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord!
 
Congratulations and Blessings!
Congratulations to our eighth-grade students who made their Sacrament of Confirmation last Tuesday, April 14, with Bishop Emeritus David Zubik at Saint Titus Church. May the gifts of the Holy Spirit bless our newly confirmed students and guide them closer to Christ. I invite everyone to pray for our second-grade students as they are in the final weeks of preparation for receiving their First Holy Communion. We will celebrate two First Holy Communion Masses on Saturday, May 2, at 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM, at Saint Frances Cabrini Church. 
 
Will You Heed the Call to Serve Your Parish?
We are still in need of Lectors for our Sunday liturgies, most especially at Saint Frances Cabrini and Our Lady of Fatima Churches. The Ministry of Lector is a necessary component of each Sunday Mass, and I continue to pray that several individuals will heed the call and invitation to serve our parish community. Training will be provided.  If you feel called to this ministry, please contact me at [email protected].