On this last Monday evening, I attended a Mass at the Newman Center at ASU, celebrated by Bishop Olmsted. This Mass, other than being special because a bishop was there, was special because of the reason that he was there: the blessing and dedication of the church’s new pipe organ.

Dear Friends,

Learning from the early Christian Community lets us hear Peter announcing the core kerygma, or the essential truths of our faith.

According to Peter, Jesus was a man commanded by God, with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs. Jesus was delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God. He was crucified and rose again, and God has made him both Lord and Messiah. This is the stark truth of the Resurrection. And the people ask Peter and the other Apostles, "What are we to do, my brothers?" and Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:22-23, 36, 38)

Why is Easter on a different Sunday each year? It is the most important day in the Church’s calendar (more important than Christmas), yet the day we commemorate our Lord’s Resurrection is not fixed to a particular date like our Lord’s Birth is. Well, Easter follows a lunar, rather than a solar, calendar and is celebrated on the Sunday that follows the first full moon after March 21, the vernal (spring) equinox. Therefore, Easter cannot fall earlier than March 22 or later than April 25.

Dear Friends,

The title of this reflection is inspired by the Gospel of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35). In that familiar and beautiful story, the disciples encounter a stranger along the way—only to discover, in the end, that it is the Risen Lord himself.

As they journey, weighed down by confusion and disappointment, Jesus himself draws near and walks with them. Yet they do not recognize him. Instead, they recount to this “stranger” all that has happened concerning Jesus of Nazareth—their dashed hopes, their sorrow, their uncertainty. And then something remarkable happens.

Let all Pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward. Let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late.

Dear Friends,

We live in a world increasingly shaped by a “tit-for-tat” mentality—a world where mercy is rarely celebrated, and strength is often measured by raw power rather than compassion. One need only look at the tragic conflicts unfolding across the globe to see the consequences of this mindset. At the root of so much violence lies humanity’s struggle to forgive and a persistent refusal to show mercy for past wrongs.

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh, and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh, and hell trembles with fear.

Dear Friends,

What a week this has been! Holy Week—the most sacred stretch of time in human history—is always a week marked by gross contradictions and naked betrayals. These painful moments were not carried out by strangers, but by those purported to be the "soul friends" of our Lord; a people He loved, served, and sacrificed everything for.