2026

This week, the readings at Mass remind us of God’s presence in our midst and within our lives.  We are called to put our trust and faith in Him, especially during difficult and challenging moments. We are reminded that we have truly become God’s children whom He has gathered from all nations and received from […]

In the Roman Catholic Church, Easter has always been a celebration of the great love that God has for His creation. This great love was shown when the Divine Son became incarnate and dwelt among us, sharing in our lot, showing us the way to the Father, and making the perfect offering of Himself in

Easter has come! Jesus is risen! In today’s Gospel reading (Mark 16:9‑15), Mary Magdalene excitedly brings the news that she has seen Jesus, but no one will share in her excitement. No one believes her. How disappointing that must have been to have such good news and not be believed. Then Cleopas and the other disciple

Today we hear the continuation of the accounts of the Lord’s Resurrection and the early activities of the Apostles in spreading the faith in Jerusalem. We also hear the first steps towards taking the Gospel and spreading the Good News, not just to the Jews, but to all the peoples of the world. Our first

The Gospel readings this week have a common theme: After his resurrection, Jesus appears to his followers, but they do not recognize him.  When Mary Magdalene, arguably the one who loved Jesus the most, encountered Jesus while outside the tomb, full of grief and despair that Jesus’ body was not there, she thought He was

He is Risen!   He is Risen, indeed! Alleluia! During this octave of Easter, we recall the multiple appearances of Jesus to his followers after his resurrection.  We also start to hear the stories of how the Good News begins to spread, first in Jerusalem, then throughout the known world.  A common theme in these

I wonder how many of you have seen what many regard as British comic actor Peter Sellers’ greatest movie. Being There was produced less than a year before his death in 1980. It tells the story of a guileless, simple-minded man named Chance. As the film opens, Chance’s entire world has been the protected environment of the

He is risen.  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  Rev. Fr. Leon Juchniewicz, a student of our Patron Saint, St. John Paul II, drilled this greeting into us when he was Pastor of our Good Shepherd Catholic Church here in Elk Grove, California.  The origin of this traditional Easter greeting appears in Luke 24:34 “The Lord

What is the holiest night of the year?  Many would presume that the answer would be Christmas Eve, the night in which the Christian world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.  However, the correct answer is Easter Vigil, the night before Easter Sunday. It is this night that Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ from

Today we are in vigil, in mourning for the cruel death of our beloved Jesus.  Today we put ourselves there with Mary, the mother of Jesus, with Mary Magdalen, with the other women, and with John, who stood by the cross and witnessed as Jesus died.  We are there with the 11 disciples, all left