7 April 2026 - homily for Tuesday of the Octave of Easter - Act 2:36-41

Today, we celebrate Tuesday of the Octave of Easter. The Octave of Easter is a 8-day liturgical period which starts on Easter Sunday and which concluded on the following Sunday when we celebrate Christ’s divine mercy. The Octave is a special time of celebration of the resurrection our Lord Jesus Christ, with each daily Mass within the octave celebrated as a solemnity. 

The saint we celebrate today is Hermann Joseph von Steinfeld, a Norbertine priest from Germany who was born in the late 12th century. As a child, he had a deep devotion to Mary. A legend is told him out on a cold day without adequate shoes, with Mary providing shoes for him.  He entered the Norbertine Abbey at Steinfeld at the age of 12. He maintained a mystical devotion to Mary throughout his lifetime. He was trained as a clockmaker, and even as a priest, used that skill to make and repair clocks. He is declared a patron saint of clock makers. He died in 1241 at a cloister of Cistercian nuns where served as chaplain, where he is now buried. He was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XII in 1958, more than 700 years after his death. Many miracles of healing from the medieval period are attributed to his intercession. 

In our reading today from the Acts of the Apostles today, we hear about 3,000 people who were baptized in response to the message that Peter preached to them. On Good Friday, we heard the crowd cry out in the midst of Christ’s passion to have him crucified. Some of those same people who cried out for Jesus to be put to death could have been the very ones who responded to Peter’s call of repentance and baptism in our reading today. They “were cut to the heart” when they realized that Jesus, who was just crucified, was made Christ and Lord by God. May their witness be an example of faith for us today. 

7 April 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Tuesday of the Octave of Easter

Lord Jesus - you are the living word of God - Lord have mercy.

Christ Jesus - you bring us hope and truth - Christ have mercy.

Lord Jesus - you are the Word of God - Lord have mercy.

PRIEST: As we celebrate the Octave of Easter, we bring our prayers to our heavenly Father:

1. As we commemorate Christ’s resurrection in a special way today, may his love be visible in our words and actions as we live out our faith each day.

2. That the Holy Spirit may help find that truth in Christ our Savior in the reality of our lives.

3. For our children preparing for the sacrament of holy Eucharist. For our youth who will receive the sacrament of confirmation tomorrow. For those adults who entered the Church on Easter weekend. May they find hope and encouragement on their journey.

4. For all who are suffering or struggling in any way. For all who need healing of body, mind or spirit. May the love of family, friends, and neighbors remind them of God’s loving care.

5. For the faithful departed. For their entry into eternal life. For the souls in purgatory.

6. For the prayers we hold in our hearts today.

PRIEST: Heavenly Father, we ask that you continue to lead and guide your people during the holy season of Easter. Hear our prayers that we make through your son Jesus Christ, our risen Lord forever and ever. Amen.

5 April 2026 - prayers of the faithful for Easter Morning Mass

Introduction - We rejoice that this is the day the Lord has made. God’s love reaches out to all of us today on Easter morning. By Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, he has conquered sin and defeated death. A new life has dawned for us, as God’s love survives sin and overcomes death. Jesus has shown us the way to the Father. May the promise of the resurrection fill us with hope and lead us to eternal life.

Penitential rite - Priest: 

Lord Jesus, you are the risen Christ.

Christ Jesus, you were anointed by God with the Holy Spirit. 

Lord Jesus, you will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Priest: Filled with Easter joy by the promise of the resurrection, we now bring our prayers to God with hope and trust:

1. That by our mercy and compassion, we in the Church may raise our brothers and sisters out of their pain and suffering, sharing the Good News of the risen Christ with them. We pray to the Lord.

2. That the peace Christ brings us on Easter morning extend to the nations of the world, filling their hearts with justice and healing. We pray for peace especially in the Middle East and Ukraine. We pray to the Lord.

3. For all who entered the Church at yesterday’s Easter Vigil Mass. May they grow in their love of God as they live as children of the light. We pray to the Lord.

4. For all who suffer from illness, hunger, isolation, or neglect. May their burdens be lifted by Christ’s continuing mission in the world. We pray to the Lord. 

5. For the sick and the afflicted. For all who cannot be at Mass with us today. May they feel our love and prayers reaching out to them. We pray to the Lord. 

6. May our Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and works of charity continue in our daily lives in the joyful season of Easter. We pray to the Lord.

7. For our deceased loved ones and family members. For their entry into eternal life. We pray to the Lord.

8. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. For our prayer intentions spoken and unspoken. For those who have asked for our prayers. We pray to the Lord.

Priest: God of creation, out of your love for us, you have given us your only begotten son and you have raised him from the dead. We make our prayers this morning through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever. AMEN. 

5 April 2026 - Bulletin Reflection for Easter Weekend

Christ has risen! With great joy, we welcome all of our parish members, family members, visitors, and guests to our Easter Weekend Masses. With great joy, we welcome our newest members to our parish, with the catechumens and candidates who have entered the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass this weekend. We are also looking forward to the sacrament of confirmation for our youth that will be celebrated at the Mass at 6:00 pm the upcoming Wednesday, April 8, at 6:00 pm. Now that we have concluded our journey with Jesus on his way to the cross during Lent, we now celebrate his resurrection in the joyful Easter season. Blessings to all of you this Easter weekend. Father Lincoln. 

prayers of the faithful for the sacrament of holy matrimony - prayers of the faithful for a Catholic wedding

Priest: As we pray to the Lord for Logan and Ross on their wedding day, we also remember the needs of the Church and the needs of the world:

1. For the Church and its leaders. May our commitment to the Gospel lead us to deepen our faith and trust in God. We pray to the Lord. 


2. For Ross and Logan, that their love for each other may continue to grow in the peace of Christ. We pray to the Lord. 


3. For all of our guests gathered here with us today. May they enjoy the warm company of family and friends and have safe travel on their journey home. We pray to the Lord. 


4. For Logan and Ross. May they live long, blessed lives together, may their love grow stronger each and every day, and may they build a family rooted in faith and unconditional love. We pray to the Lord. 


5. For our family and friends that have died. May they know the peace and fullness of eternal life with God. We pray to the Lord. 


6. For the leaders of the Church: may Pope Leo XIV and the bishops work together to build up our Church, that it may become the living sacrament of God’s transforming presence in the world. We pray to the Lord. 

7. For peace throughout the world, especially in the Middle East. For our military veterans and for the men and women serving in the military. We pray to the Lord. 

8. For the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts. We pray to the Lord. 


Priest: God of love, you create man and woman to become one. Hear the prayer of your church and answer the needs of your children, Logan and Ross. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer intention of Pope Leo XIV for March 2026 - for disarmament and peace

For disarmament and peace:  Let us pray that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.

5 April 2025 - homily for Easter Sunday - Matthew 28:1-10 - Psalm 118

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” As we hear this message of great joy proclaimed to us in the psalm today, we joyfully greet all of you today on this glorious Easter morning when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. 

We have been journeying with Jesus for 40 days in the desert during the holy days of Lent. The Church asked us at the beginning of Lent to observe the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and works of charity. I know that many of the Catholic faithful have been following these disciplines in different ways. On Fridays throughout Lent, we here at our parishes of Holy Savior and Immaculate Conception invited you to pray the stations of the cross with us, emphasizing the reality Jesus went through in his passion and in his way of cross. His way of the cross became our way of the cross in many different ways. 

Last week, we commemorated Holy Week with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, with his last supper with his disciples on Holy Thursday, and with his death on the cross on Good Friday. At the time of his crucifixion, many of Jesus’ close friends and disciples had denied him or abandoned him out of their own fears and sufferings. 

By sharing in the passion of the Lord during the holy days of Lent, we are now able to share in his resurrection today with sincerity and joy.  By our participation in the holy days of Lent, we are able to rise with Jesus today to a newness of life. 

This bring us to Easter morning when Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb in the early morning hours to find that Jesus’ body was not there. The significance of the empty tomb cannot be overstated. The mystery of faith and the resurrection that the empty tomb symbolizes stand at the very foundation of our faith and as the source of our hope. Our life of discipleship and our actions of faith would be in vain if the resurrection had not occurred. The empty tomb and the resurrection are what give our faith its purpose and our hope its substance. We are called to live out this faith and pass it on to others, just as previous generations have done for over two thousand years. 

Mary Magdalene was the first to witness the empty tomb. Based on her subsequent actions, of going out to notify the other disciples right away, the great medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas called he the “apostle of the the apostles.” She shared the joy of the resurrection with Jesus’ close group of followers. We can imagine their shock and confusion as they tried to make sense out of what was happening. 

As Catholics, in the reality of our lives of faith, Easter is not to be a one-day event. Easter and the resurrection and the entire paschal mysteries are to be a life-changing reality for us that transform the way we live and transform our perspective in life. The reality of Easter morning is to give us the hope that we will be with the Lord for all eternity. This is a reality we are to share with others and to live out each day. The Church affirms this reality by inviting us to celebrate the Octave of Easter, which concludes next Sunday, when we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. We are planning to have a special Divine Mercy prayer service at 3:00 pm that Sunday afternoon, which is a traditional devotion of our Catholic faith. We also will be celebrating an entire Easter Season which will end 50 days after Easter morning on Pentecost Sunday, which takes place on May 24 this year. We will have our traditional parish Pentecost lunch at Holy Savior on that day. 

This Easter morning and throughout the Easter season, may we worship the Lord with humility, sincerity, and gratitude. May we be filled with the joy of Jesus and the joy of the resurrection. May our hearts be full of love, belief, and faith in our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. We wish all of you and your families a blessed and joyful Easter.