Third Sunday of Easter, April 18

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

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I pray that this Easter Season has begun as a time
of reawakening for your Domestic Church as we strive
more vigorously to live out our Baptism. For the next
four weeks we will be reflecting on the effects of the
resurrection and the growth of the infant Church as we
listen to the Scripture Readings from the Acts of the
Apostles, the first Letter of Saint John and the Gospels of
Luke, John and Mark. This meditation will lead us to
Ascension Sunday, May 16th and to the conclusion of the
Easter Season on Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd. Once
again we are playing catch up due to restrictions with all
the Easter Sacraments of Baptisms, First Confessions,
First Holy Communions, Confirmations, and Marriages.
As restrictions begin to lift a little in our State of
California, for them, and indeed for all of us, a great
challenge will forever be there. As many come into the
faith and continue to advance in their faith journey, here
at Saint Joseph and throughout the world, we must see
ourselves as part of a family. Baptism incorporates us
into the Family of God and makes us members of the
Church. Saint Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, tells us
that “The community of believers was of one heart and
mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions
was his own, but they had everything in common. With
great power the Apostles bore witness to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them
all.” I encourage the adults, their sponsors and family
and all those who will be received into the Church, and
all of you, in this call to recognize our belonging to God
and His Church. Just as the apostles taught the faith and
commissioned others by the laying on of hands, so I
encourage all of you, and I too must teach you,
encourage you and commission you to live your faith;
that is to say, live in relationship with Jesus. I urged all
of you to do two things – to pray and to receive the
Eucharist. Remember, prayer is a surge from the heart
towards God. Everyday we must engage in conversation
with God if we are to have any type of real relationship
with Him. There is much to ask God for, there are so
many things to pray for, and there is so much to be
thankful for. Yes, this is good to include in our daily
prayer, but we must also be quiet so that we can listen to
God speak to our heart. We must let God into every part
of our lives. I challenge you to pray at least for 5
minutes a day. But, if you just do the basics that I listed
above, you will need more than 5 minutes. It is amazing
what we discover about God and about ourselves when
we pray. Next week I will continue with prayer and then
speak of the second part that I urged you to do.

Happy Resurrection to all,

Fr. Steven Guitron

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