Easter Sunday - April 21, 2019

THIS WEEK’S REFLECTION

 Happy Easter!

 Alleluia!  He is Risen!

 Saying those words is like drinking a tall glass of cold water after being out in the desert all day.  Lent is over and it is now time to celebrate the great joy of Easter!

 At the Easter Vigil, the Exsultet is sung as Mass begins in darkness, illumined only by candles throughout the church.  The Exsultet is a beautiful hymn of rejoicing in Christ’s triumph over sin and death.  One part states:

 O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!  O happy fault that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer!

 This line stands out because it calls the sin of Adam “necessary” and refers to it as “O happy fault.”  At first, this may seem strange.  Why is it that we refer to the sin of Adam, Original Sin, as “necessary” and “happy.”  The answer is Easter.  It’s because God, in His perfect wisdom and love, took sin and the consequence of sin (death) and used them as the means of the salvation of the world.  That’s what Easter is all about!

 This may be hard to comprehend so it’s worth thinking about more deeply.  Without Adam’s sin, there would be no Jesus.  God would not have had to become one of us.  So even though the original sin of Adam, as well as all future sin, is evil and wrong, God in His perfect power and love chose to use it as the very means of the salvation of the world.  How?  By allowing the sins of the world to persecute Him and crucify Him, and then, by turning that suffering and death into the very means of salvation.  Jesus destroyed sin by destroying the consequences of sin which is death.  Death loses in the Resurrection!  Jesus’ Resurrection takes away the effects of all sin for those who cling to Him.

 Easter is a time when we must do just that.  We must “cling” to our resurrected Lord!  We must cling to Jesus who is alive and well.  We must cling to His Resurrection and strive to share in it.  How do we cling to our Resurrected Lord?  There are many ways.  Here is one.

Take joy in everything.  Start with whatever it is that burdens you the most.  Whatever it is that makes you angry, sad or depressed.  Whatever that is, it can potentially become one of your greatest sources of grace and joy.  Seriously, it can.  If the brutal Crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God, can turn out to be the greatest event in all of human history, then your personal suffering, your burden, or even your sin can very much become a source of great joy as long as you let God transform it into part of His Resurrection!

 This is the meaning of Easter!  Easter means that nothing can keep us from the joy that God wants to give us.  Nothing can steal that joy away.  Sure, at times we will struggle just as Jesus did in the Agony of the Garden and the Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Cross), but those sufferings will not win.  The Resurrection won with Christ and it will win with us when we cling to Him.  Jesus persevered and, in the end, rose victorious.  This is Easter!

 Know that God wants you to experience the joy of Easter in your life.  Let Him fill you with hope and with the joy that only the Resurrection can bring.  God wants Easter to begin now in our lives!  Happy Easter!

 MyCathloicLife.com

EASTER BLESSINGS TO ALL

May the Risen Savior bring peace and joy to each of your lives, your families and loved ones. May we all be renewed in hope to face the challenges of our times.

 EASTER EGG HUNT

The children are also invited to join us for an Easter Egg Hunt after Mass today outside in the Prayer Garden. Light refreshments will be provided during the festivities prepared by our Sunday School Staff.

 SPECIAL THANKS

As we conclude Lent and Holy Week and enter the Easter Season, special thanks to all who serve St. Ann’s so faithfully throughout the year and especially during these holy days and seasons. We thank our music ministers, altar servers, and our Eucharistic Ministers, lectors and faithful ushers. We are also grateful for those who cleaned and decorated the church, special guest speakers who shared the Good News, those that prepared soup for our Lenten journey, and prepared and served the Seder Meal. May God smile on all our volunteers who serve our church so well.

BAPTISMAL

Next Sunday, the Holy Spirit blows over the baptismal waters of rebirth as we celebrate with great joy, a new member to the family of God, Ulda Bassole, daughter of Eric and Sara Bassole. Let us all rejoice in this new life in Christ!

 ST. ANN’S GOSPEL CONCERT

This Saturday, April 27th 7:00 pm St. Ann’s Choir presents a Gospel Music Celebration Concert, “I Come to Magnify The Lord.” This event will be performed at St. Ann’s Church. Donations are $10. Please join us as we experience guest choirs and musical talents from across Baltimore!!!

 ST. ANN'S HEALTH & WELLNESS FAIR

Planning is underway for our Annual St. Ann’s Community Health and Wellness Fair for our church family and our neighbors from the surrounding area. The date for the fair is set for Saturday, May 18 12 noon – 3 pm. There will be free health information and screenings, along with snacks and entertainment for children. Help with set up, clean up or any of the activities planned for that day is always needed.

ST. ANN’S ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

We are gearing up for our St. Ann’s Annual Fundraising Event Friday, May 31. We will celebrate with a Shrimp and Bull Roast which features an all you can eat menu. Tickets are currently available at $60 per person. Payment plans may also be established for the purchase of your ticket. Please see Bobby Jackson and our ticket captains for tickets and information. Tickets may also be purchased in church office. 

            Friday, May 31, 2019

          Columbus Gardens

          4301 Klosterman Ave.

          Baltimore, MD. 21236

          8:00 pm – 12:00 am      

Raffle drawings

-1st Prize-40” Flat Screen HDTV

-2nd Prize-Bluetooth Wireless Headphones

-3rd Prize-$50 Gift Card

PRAYER REQUESTS

Please also continue to pray for all of our sick and homebound, especially Msgr. Lloyd Aiken (Sacred Heart Glyndon), Cornelia Bailey, Florence Barber, James Butts, Elaine Cousin, Elaine Edmonds, Gregory Epps, John Frederick, Pat Haley, Rita Hardy, Tom Lutz, Nelson Outlaw, Penny Palmer, Bernadette, Wallace, Kevin Scott, Sharon Johnson-Stewart Wallace, Rita Watkins and ask that God grant them strength, comfort and healing.

 APRIL/MAY 2019          

Sun., Apr.21    EASTER SUNDAY

                         THE RESURRECTION OF  OUR LORD

                         11:00 am Mass, St. Ann’s

  St. Ann’s Easter Egg Hunt   Prayer Garden, after Mass

Thurs., Apr.25 Evening Mass, 7pm

                           Bible Study after Mass,

                           Anchorage Chapel

Sat., Apr.27       St. Ann’s Gospel Choir

                           “I Came to Magnify the Lord”

                            St. Ann’s Church 7pm

Sun., Apr.28      2nd Sunday of Easter

                            11 am Mass, St. Ann

                            Baptismal-during Mass

                             Sunday School Resumes

                            9:30 am, 2nd Floor Youth Room

                             Adult Bible Study after Mass,

                            Anchorage.

Thurs., May 2    Evening Mass, 7pm

                            Bible Study after Mass,  Anchorage Chapel

 Sun., May 5         3rd Sunday of Easter

                            11 am Mass, St. Ann  1st Holy Communion\

READINGS FOR NEXT SUNDAY

1st Reading                                             Acts 5:12-16           

2nd Reading           Revelation 1:19-11, 12-13, 17-19

Gospel                                                  John 20:19-31