Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake; 
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, 
approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
His appearance was like lightning
and his clothing was white as snow.
The guards were shaken with fear of him
and became like dead men.
Then the angel said to the women in reply,
"Do not be afraid!
I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
'He has been raised from the dead, 
and he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him.'
Behold, I have told you."
Then they went away quickly from the tomb, 
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce this to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me."

Matthew 28:  1-10

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Blessed Easter to you and your loved ones!  I hope your Easter Sunday was filled with the joy of being with family.  May you experience the fullness of peace of our Risen Lord throughout the Easter season.

My sister and I prepared traditional Slovak foods with recipes from our Mom and Grandmother, Baba, including pascha (bread), cheese, butter, kielbasi, ham, eggs, horseradish, etc.  The basket was our grandparents'; our Mom embroidered the special cloths which line and cover the basket.  A local parish offers the Blessing of Easter foods on Holy Saturday at noon and it is beautiful to see multiple generations of people of Eastern European descent gather for God's blessing upon their celebration.

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You were especially remembered in prayer during a recent Pilgrimage to Italy which included Mass at holy sites in Assisi, Siena, Padua as well as Rome.  

Our group was privileged to received preferred seating and be near to His Holiness Pope Francis at a General Audience held in Saint Peter's Square.  Our Holy Father bestowed his Apostolic Blessing upon us and upon each of you.

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