Mass Times: Saturdays at 5:00 pm;
Sundays at 8:00 am and 10:30 am.
Mon, Tues, Wed* (*Communion service),
and Fri at 8:15 am;
Thurs at 6:00 pm.
St. Rita Roman Catholic Church
1008 Maple Dr., Webster, NY 14580
585-671-1100
 

He is Risen!

We made it! We are here at Easter, the Paschal Festivities! We have come to the end of Lent – meaning both arriving at the close of Lent and arriving at the purpose of Lent. Today is THE feast of our Salvation and of our Lord. We are a resurrection people!

I am fascinated by the reality that Jesus does not appear in our Gospel readings today. The woman (or women, depending on which Gospel) arrive wanting to lovingly complete the funeral rites for Jesus and they find the tomb open and empty.

He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!

Here we are, a resurrection people – a resurrected people – joyfully coming with the women to the empty tomb once again. This Sunday is filled with wonder and awe, with purpose and potential. This is the day of our re-creation. This is the day of all of God’s promises coming together and being realized, being made real.

These are the feasts of the Paschal Mystery when Jesus Christ defeated death, saved us from sin, and pledges to us Eternal Life with Him. This is the Passover of our Lord! By God’s grace we pass over death with Him!

Today is the source of all our joy, the reason why our hearts are not troubled even when life can be so terribly troubling. Today is the celebration of the absolute and infinite love of our God who gave us his only Son, who raises his Son to new life, and who, in that same love and power, raises us to new life and makes of us new people.

Today we celebrate with great rejoicing the new life into which we journey – with God and Jesus within us and beside us.

This is the “end” of Lent, the purpose of all we have put into our journey of Lent. We have been saved. The human race has been redeemed. The universe has been recreated. All things are being made new.
Rejoice and be glad! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Peace,
~Fr. Tim


Do We Have Passion?

Fr. Daniel Groody, from the University of Notre Dame, wrote “God became a human being. He entered a world where human beings have the passion to become God. But God’s passion was to become a human being.” 

As we enter into the Triduum this week, reflect upon your passion for Christ. Do we have the passion to become like God, a compassionate, merciful God, loving and serving others? Bring your questions, your challenges with you as we enter Holy Week. See how God’s passion for us unfolds over Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Perhaps your faith will be reinvigorated with a renewed passion to live our faith to the fullest!

Blessings this week,
Deacon Jim


Eucharistic Communion and Seeing Those in Need

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that receiving the Eucharist “commits us to the poor” (1397). Why is this so?

Receiving the Eucharist means that we enter into union with the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. And being in Holy Communion with Jesus himself means something profound. Let’s consider one facet of this great mystery.

The Eucharist is Jesus himself. He is the Eternal Word, living in Trinitarian communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. But out of love for us, in order to save us from sin and death, the beloved Son of the Father chose to take upon himself a radical poverty: the weakness of the human condition of his beloved creatures.

Continue reading this article by Dr. James Pauley here.