Fr. Tom writes: "Having commemorated the Passion and Death of Jesus during Holy Week, we celebrated on Easter Sunday Jesus' victory over death as manifested in the Resurrection. The liturgies for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday were the graced means of our entering deeply into the mystery of Christ suffering, and that participation in his suffering made Easter Sunday a jubilant celebration of Christ's triumph over evil. The liturgy inspired us and drew us into the mystery of the Resurrection, through the scriptural accounts of Jesus' appearances, through the ancient prayers of the liturgy, and through the jubilant hymns of praise that express the miraculous transformation that God has worked throughout the centuries in the lives of those who have given their lives to Jesus. We were inspired on Easter also by the witness of one another, as we proclaimed through our presence at mass that God makes a profound difference in our lives. The liturgy used our senses as well--the musical instruments and the blending of voices, the beauty of the decorations and the fragrance of the flowers making tangibly present for us God's goodness and love. God spoke to us, finally, in the beautiful spring day he gave us as a sign of his care and faithfulness. This Easter was certainly a gift from God to our parish, but many more gifts await us over the fifty days of the Easter season, from today's celebration of Divine Mercy, through the unfolding Scriptural accounts of God's miraculous action in the early Christian community, up to the celebration of Pentecost and our prayer that God continues his miraculous work here and now, in our own parish community. He is Risen, He is truly Risen!"