Second Sunday of Easter
April 30, 2026 Bulletin Column Father De Celles
Blessed and Joyous Easter! I hope you all had a joyful Easter Sunday, and that that joy has continued throughout this Easter Week.
I give thanks to the Blessed Trinity for the outpouring of grace and beauty during the Triduum, and I want to thank all the folks who helped make the liturgies of those days so reverent and solemn.
Most especially I have to thank the Altar Servers, who served the three great liturgies of the Triduum. We always have a special practice earlier in the day for each of these ceremonies, so that means double duty for the boys. I can’t tell you how many people complimented me on their reverence and discipline. I was very proud of them all. Thanks also to Chet Bliss who served as Master of Ceremonies, and to Michael Hildebrand as his assistant.
And the Choir! They were magnificent! You should all know that they work extra hard during Lent, with all sorts of extra hours of practice during the week. And while singing beautifully, they also pull it off without dominating: their music truly serves and compliments the liturgy. I have to particularly give recognition and thanks to our Music Director, Elisabeth Turco, THE BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR in our Diocese.
Thanks also to Julie Mullen and her flower committee; to Nena Brennen, our head sacristan, along with her family; to all the lectors, headed by Patty Pacheco; to all the groups who ran the Soup Suppers; and to the ushers, headed by Patrick O’Brien. Special thanks also to the parish staff for all they did. And thanks Fr. Horkan for all his support, especially with confessions, and to Fr. Bergida especially for directing and teaching OCIA.
Speaking of OCIA, congratulations to our new Catholics and newly confirmed. We had 22 receive sacraments at the Easter Vigil, the largest class in my 16 years at St. Raymonds: baptized and confirmed 9, welcomed into full communion and confirmed 9 former Protestants, and confirmed 4 adult Catholics. A warm and joyful welcome to them all. Please keep them in our prayers, and seek them out to help them to become part of our parish. Also, thanks to the parishioners who helped Fr. Bergida in this important work, especially Mary Hansen, who worked so hard behind the scenes coordinating everything.
Divine Mercy Sunday. This Second Sunday in the Octave of Easter is also known as “Divine Mercy Sunday,” established as such in 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II, inspired by the claims of St. Faustina Kowalska that Jesus Himself had requested this during His private apparitions to her during the 1930s. The Lord reportedly also told St. Faustina: “I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day, all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened.”
Although private apparitions/revelations such as this need not be believed by Catholics, this one, as with many others, has been recognized by the Church as “worthy of belief.” Moreover, the Church which has established a plenary indulgence for this Sunday: “…granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession , Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honor of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!”).” You may go to confession “within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act.” For a brief explanation of indulgences, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1471ff.]
Easter Continues. Of course, the Season of Easter continues until Pentecost Sunday, May 24, reminding us of the ongoing importance of the Resurrection to all of us throughout the year: Christ has truly risen, and lives today in our midst, may we always live as if we believe that!
Trump, War, and Rhetoric. As I write this on Wednesday (April 8) the media is all abuzz with the news of the two-week cease fire between the US/Israel and Iran. Thanks be to Jesus! But it is striking to me how many people took literally the President’s statement that he would “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” I never understand why so many people fail to understand Trumpspeak.
It seems to me that you need to understand two things about Trump to understand him: he is a dealmaker, and in that context he constantly speaks in hyperboles. Whether he’s talking about “the greatest economic recovery in history” or his comic insults against his opponents, you can see his rhetoric as too complementary types: the detail-oriented closer, or the hyperbolic promoter. So that when you hear the hyperbole you say, “he’s trying to make his point,” but when you read the details he gives you understand the point he’s trying to make.
So in this case he (or his administration) repeatedly gave details of his intention to make a massive attack to destroy dual-purpose (military/civilian) infrastructure in Iran to cripple the brutal regime. And to make the point he really meant it, he used hyperbole. He never intended us to think he was going to destroy all of Iran.
Now, some say that hyperbole is just another word for lying. Nonsense. We all use hyperbole. “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” That’s not a lie—it’s using exaggerations to make a point, not to deceive. And that’s the opposite of a lie, which is “to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive.”
Jesus spoke in hyperbole all the time. “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” “If any come to me, and hate not his father, and mother…he cannot be my disciple.” He’s making his points, he’s not lying, and he’s not telling us he wants us to cut off our hands or hate our parents.
And even the Pope speaks in hyperbole today. Two weeks ago Pope Leo said, “Jesus …does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” Well of course, Pope Leo must have been speaking in hyperbole in order to make a point of his opposition to the present wars. If he wasn’t, he would be a material heretic, since we definitively believe that Jesus listens to the prayer of everyone, even the worst sinners. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
[Let me clarify: this is not to praise or support Trump, but to support you in understanding him, and, perhaps, in understanding Pope Leo. But it is only my opinion, presented with pastoral concern for you. But I could be wrong.]
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles