Dear Friends in Christ

The experience of St Thomas seeing and touching Christ on the evening of Easter Day was for him life-changing. Now he himself was a witness to the Resurrection, since he had seen and touched Him and spoken with Him. It was that encounter that gave rise to the great act of faith that we often use at Mass, when we behold Jesus at the moment of the Consecration: My Lord and my God! Today is the feast of Divine Mercy - instituted by St Pope John Paul II - because it was precisely at the moment when Jesus comes back from the dead that He chose to give the surpassing gift of Mercy to His Church. As in every other year, we shall honour the Divine Mercy of Christ with the Devotions this Sunday afternoon at 2.30pm. Integral to this Devotion is our trust in what Jesus promises us together with the reception of His Divine Pardon in the Sacrament of Mercy, Confession.

At the end of another Holy Week there are so many of you to thank! I begin by thanking all of you who sent me greetings and gifts for Easter; the generous Easter collection and for the assurance of your prayers throughout Lent and Holy Week. I am sure that the efforts we made during Lent will continue to bear much fruit as we proceed through the rest of the liturgical year. I am so very grateful to all who laboured to ensure that the Holy Week Ceremonies were worthy celebrations of the Mysteries of Faith: the musicians and altar servers; those who cleaned, prepared and decorated the church, front and back of stage! Above all, to those who prepared our New Catholics for the Sacraments received at the Easter Vigil. Thank you all for a wonderfully collaborative endeavour. May God continue to bless us during this Easter season in our Centenary Year!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
Homily available at LourdesLeigh.org