Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

On this Fifth Sunday of Easter, He is Risen, Alleluia! Our Lord gives us another image to contemplate when He speaks of Himself as the True Vine. In the Hebrew Scripture, i.e., the Old Testament Israel itself is described as the vine that God has planted, and  in order to reinforce that image the facade of the  Temple in Jerusalem was adorned with a golden vine.  When struck by the morning sunrise it gleamed be yond imagining. With Christ the vine is no longer an artifice of man, but rather the work of God and man together. The Incarnate One, God and man, becomes the life-giving Vine that surpasses all others.  

The sap of the Vine is the grace that flows into all  who have been grafted into Jesus through Baptism  and the Sacramental life of the Church. What began  in the saving waters is fortified in the power of the  Holy Spirit in Confirmation, vivified in the reception  of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, and proclaimed in the vocations of Holy Matrimony and Holy Priesthood, and healed in Reconciliation and anointing of the sick. Not only is Christ present to us but, most wonderfully, He is in us. 

This past Thursday, 27 young students made a commitment to follow Christ more selflessly when they  received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the hands  of Bishop Bambera. We pray that they will be ever faithful to the gifts bestowed on them by the Holy  Spirit and that they will enthusiastically give witness  to Christ and His Church. 

On Sunday, April 14th, 8 of our young parishioners received from Bishop Bambera the Diocesan Youth Awards. We congratulate them and encourage them to keep up the goodwork of service to the Church.  The recipients are: 8th graders, Sydney Busnel,  Abraham, Bella, and Vera Rickard; and seniors, Claire  Campen, Maria Maglione, Max Cummings, and Sawyer  Palmer. Thank you for representing our parish so well. 

With Blessings,

Father Langan