Dear Fellow Parishioners, “Hosanna to the Son of David, the King of Israel!” The praises sung to welcome Jesus as he entered Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday brought hope to many who welcomed Jesus into their lives as the Messiah. At the same time these words of praise were a threat to the power and authority of the Temple leaders who wanted the crowds to be silenced. These same divisions are a part of our own personal lives. Our hearts can sometimes be divided and broken. Relationships in our own families may be in need of healing. Holy Week is a communal retreat experience. It is a time to allow our personal and communal Lenten journey to blend with the journey of Jesus in his last days. “Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for justice, for you will be satisfied!” May our thirst be quenched. “Lord that I may see!” May the blindness of our own lives be brought to the light of Christ. “Lazarus, come out!” May we hear the Lord’s words echo in our ears as he calls us out of the darkness of our often time self-made tombs. The events of this Holy Week offer us a time to reflect on how our life experience in relation to the Lord’s journey and His willingness to bring healing and wholeness to the brokenness and divisions of our own lives. The challenge is to make sure that this Holy Week is not just the routine of every other week and make the time for spiritual growth because you/ I/ we are worth it. May the “Hosannas to the Son of David” lead us to the glories of the empty tomb. May the words of Jesus to Lazarus be ours as we make our Holy Week pilgrimage: “Be untied and set free!” Happy Holy Week! Fr. Bill