Dear Parishioners and Friends,

During these most Holy Days the Church offers to me many reminders in the numbers and types of services, and for your needs and those of your families, both the living and the deceased.

Friday, Saturday and Pascha represent in a unique way, the heart and core of our Faith, since they reveal to us the heart and core of Jesus' life, His teaching, His sacrifice and His triumph.

By baptism, all of these belong to us as well. I pray they will become more perfectly the heart and core of our own lives. May the Lord show Himself to you even more clearly this week, and may the Light of the Resurrection guide you to Christ!

Christ is risen! (soon)!

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

As usual, every year around this time you'll hear on the radio, see on TV and read in different places about people "giving thanks." But in nearly every case there is no mention of whom the person is thanking, nor to whom they are grateful, as in "I'm thankful for my health." Okay, so who is responsible for your good health — you, your doctor, fate, genetics, random chance, drugs, or all of the above? And which of these items are you thanking? Thanksgiving Day was not established as a "feel good about your life day." Until very recently it was always portrayed as a day to render thanks to God. As you'll notice this week, God is generally absent from any public mention of Thanksgiving, but I suggest that every time we notice someone NOT mentioning Him as the one to thank for our blessings, we stop for a moment to thank Him for our blessings and His loving kindness to us in so many ways.