THE WISE STILL SEEK HIM. April 20, Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

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1 CHURCH OF THE April 20, 2014 EPIPHANY Easter of the Resurrection of the Lord Church Address 8235 S.W. 57 Avenue, Miami, Florida Ministry of Religious Education & Pastoral Services Mrs. Isabel Prellezo, Directress Telephone: Office of Development & Parish Affairs Mr. Edmund F. Onorati, Director Telephone: Ministry of Music Mr. Thomas Schuster, Organist Mr. Angelo Marchese, Cantor Mr. Georgi Danchev, Choirmaster Telephone: School Sister Margaret Fagan, IHM, Principal Ms. Ana Oliva, Vice Principal 5557 S.W. 84 Street, Miami, Florida Telephone: Fax: Convent Sister Carmen Teresa, IHM, Superior Telephone: Rectory/Mailing Address 8081 S.W. 54 Court, Miami, Florida Telephone: Fax: Masses Monday-Friday 6:30 & 8:00 a.m. Saturday 8:00 a.m. Saturday Vigil 5:30 p.m. 8:00, 9:30, & 11:00 a.m. 12:30* & 6:00 p.m. (*Spanish) Rosary Daily 7:40 a.m. Novena Mondays 8:30 a.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the Church Monday-Friday 7:00-8:00 a.m. & 8:30-9:30 a.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Chapel Thursdays 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. Sacrament of Baptism Call the Parish Office two months in advance. Sacrament of Matrimony Call the Parish Office ten months in advance. Monsignor Jude O Doherty, Pastor Father Luis Largaespada, Associate Pastor Deacon Don Livingstone Deacon Norman Ruíz-Castañeda Deacon José Luis Carrión, Jr. Deacon Thomas V. Eagan Deacon Marcos Pérez THE WISE STILL SEEK HIM

2 Pastor s Pen Easter is commonly accepted as a historical fact. We believe that on a morning nearly two thousand years ago, the crucified Christ rose from the dead, walked out of the tomb, and is alive for evermore. Every year on this special day, we gather to celebrate that historical fact. What does the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead mean to our world and to our lives? There are, of course, many possible answers to that question, but I would like to propose this one: Easter means that the best is permanent; nothing can destroy it, not even death. Our Gospel reading says of John that "he saw and believed" yet it does not say exactly what he believed. The initial Easter faith of all the disciples was necessarily embryonic and ill-defined. All they knew at first was that they stood in the presence of a profound mystery. And as the days went by, the meaning of this marvelous event began to take shape in their minds. In our reading from Acts, Peter proclaims that it was God who raised Him up. The resurrection was a divine initiative. God Himself had intervened. And in our other reading, Paul reminded the Colossians that they had been "raised up in company with Christ;" therefore, he exhorted them to "be intent on things above rather than things of earth." It is those "things above" that we are concerned with, and we are saying that Easter proclaims the permanence of life's higher values, that the resurrection of Christ from the dead guarantees that the best will never be lost. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it like this: "What is excellent, as God lives, is permanent." proclaiming to the world that Christ and those things for which He stands are permanent. So, Easter is more than a message about personal immortality, more than a solace for private grief. Easter is a proclamation that the best things will never be lost. The resurrection of Christ from the dead is not simply a comfort for the heart. It's a tonic for the mind. It tells us that this universe in which we live has eternal meaning, that in back of it is something real and rational that will outlast everything. But if Easter is not true, if the best things eventually rot in the ground, then, life has no ultimate meaning. If the Easter message is not true, if the grave ends it all, then God throws away people. He brings them into this world, endows them with glorious possibilities, and allows time for some of those possibilities to come to fruition, but at the end of life, He throws them away; and all that they were, and all that they might have been are gone forever. I cannot believe in that kind of God. The Easter message tells me that the best within us and the best among us will never be lost. God grant such faith to us this Easter. May we go from this place knowing that life has real meaning and that Christ and the things He stands for will abide forever. Today, things are changing so rapidly that one is inclined to wonder what the outcome will be. Those first disciples lived in a similar time and faced the very same question. In the midst of an unstable world, they had put their trust in Christ. Then came Calvary, and even He seemed to be lost forever. But on morning, God raised Him up,

3 Easter The Church, for two thousand years, has celebrated and proclaimed the resurrection of Christ from the dead. I am personally convinced of the truth of that message. But I cannot prove it. If you have come in search of some conclusive evidence, some final argument for the reality of the resurrection, then, you are almost certain to go home disappointed. No one has ever proven it to me, and I can never prove it to anyone else. It is one of those things that lies beyond the realm of proof. Each person must discover the truth of it for himself or herself. I would urge you to do that. If the resurrection of Christ is true, you need to know it; you need to experience His presence and His power in your life. To those of us who accept the Easter message as truth, what meaning does it have for our lives? Well, for one thing, it means that Christ has the final endorsement of God. Our reading from the book of Acts records part of a sermon which Peter preached to a group of Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. It was a simple message, briefly recounting the ministry of Jesus how He went about doing good and how God was obviously pleased with Him. Then, Peter compressed the death and resurrection of Jesus into one powerful statement. He said, They killed Him finally,hanging Him on a tree, only to have God raise Him up on the third day. Clearly implied in that sentence is a clash of wills, human will against the divine will. Peter was saying that the cross was man s doing and the resurrection was God s doing. The cross was man s way of saying, We do not agree with this man; we do not like the things that He says; we do not approve of the way that He lives. He does not belong in our world. The resurrection was God s way of saying, The life and teachings of this man have my unqualified approval. He is what life is all about. The future of the world belongs to Him and His way of living. The judicial system of our Nation is composed of various courts with assigned areas of responsibility. All of these are arranged in a hierarchy with one court having greater authority than another. At the top of the entire system is the Supreme Court of the United States, presided over by the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. Those nine people have the power to reverse the decision of any other court in the land. A lower court may find a man guilty and sentence him to death. The Supreme Court, if it hears the case, can overturn that ruling and set the man free. In a sense, that is what happened in the cross and the resurrection. On Good Friday, the court of human will condemned Christ, rejected His way of life, and put Him to death. But on Easter, God, the Supreme Judge of the Universe, reversed that decision and raised Him up again. The implications of that are significant. It means that Christ is for real. He belongs here. When we give ourselves to Him, when we follow the path of peace and love, we are not playing games. This is real life, the kind of living on which God has placed His stamp of approval. I say to you, Christ is risen. If I cannot prove it, you must make that discovery for yourself. Follow Him, give yourself wholeheartedly to His way of forgiveness and love because this is what life really means.

4 Mass Intentions Date Time Intention Requested By Readings Saturday 7:30 p.m. EASTER VIGIL Apr. 19 8:00 a.m. People of Epiphany Apr. 20 9:30 a.m. People of Epiphany 11:00 a.m. People of Epiphany 12:30 p.m. People of Epiphany 6:00 p.m. People of Epiphany Monday 6:30 a.m. No Mass Apr. 21 8:00 a.m. + Silverio M. Vega Gallart Family + Roberto Suero Beatriz Suero + Bobby Bebber Family & Friend Tuesday 6:30 a.m. + Carl & Wilhemina Rodelstab Apr Nicolas Gutierrez Family Sarah Ryan Pistorino Pistorino Family 8:00 a.m. + Clemente Vazquez-Bello Rosi Maza-Saez Special Intention Dr. & Mrs. Moises Hernandez Wednesday 6:30 a.m. Carmen Lecompte Yidi Family Apr. 23 Alexandra Lara Lara Family 8:00 a.m. + Carmen Miguez Shahin Family Special Intention Dr. & Mrs. Moises Hernandez Thursday 6:30 a.m. + Sergio & Dolores Salas Family Apr Camille Eisenhart Marty & Camille Thiry 8:00 a.m. + Ruth Guilday Bunny Bastian + Generosa Martinez Rams Family + Florence D Urso Friday 6:30 a.m. Maria Elizabette Pistorino Pistorino Family Apr. 25 Monique Farach Parents 8:00 a.m. In Thanksgiving De La Osa Family + Silvia Alfonso Dr. & Mrs. Moises Hernandez Saturday 8:00 a.m. + Rene F. Larrieu Gloria M. Larrieu Apr Barbara & Robert B. Goeser Elsie Betancourt Acts 10:34a,37-43 Ps 118:1-2,16-17, Col 3:1-4 Lk 24:13-35 Acts 2:14,22-33 Ps 16:1-2a,5,7-11 Mt 28:8-15 Acts 2:36-41 Ps 33:4-5,18-20,22 Jn 20:11-18 Acts 3:1-10 Ps 105:1-4,6-9 Lk 24:13-35 Acts 3:11-26 Ps 8:2ab,5-9 Lk 24:35-48 Acts 4:1-12 Ps 118:1-2,4, 22-27a Jn 21:1-14 Acts 4:13-21 Ps 118:1,14-15b, Mk 16:9-15 ( Vigil) 5:30 p.m. In Thanksgiving Perez-Zarraga Family + Ada Mesa Beatriz Suero 8:00 a.m. Sister Rosemarie Hagan, IHM Pistorino Family Apr Oscar Villasana Lillie Villasana 9:30 a.m. + Milene Martin Raul Moas Family + Julia Almeida Hernandez Pistorino Family + Silvia Lamar Lisa & Jorge Pereira 11:00 a.m. People of Epiphany 12:30 p.m. + Antonio Cam Wong Family + Pedro Marrero Marrero Family 6:00 p.m. + Jose Sanchez Sanchez Family Daniel & Carolina Bustamante Wedding Anniversary Bustamante Family Acts 2:42-47 Ps 118:2-4,13-15, Pt 1:3-9 Jn 20:19-31

5 Mass Schedules April 26 / 27 Celebrants Lectors Altar Servers Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Saturday 5:30 p.m. Msgr. Jude O'Doherty Carolina Ragolta Karen Murphy J. Linares A. Moas L. O'Flaherty A. Pena A. Perdomo J. Reis W. Reis C. Rodriguez COORDINATOR:Kathy Moorman HOST:Kathy Moorman Jose Garcia Camille Thiry Martin Thiry Cristina Pasken Rosi Maza-Saez 8:00 a.m. Fr. Luis Largaespada Henry Pujol Calene Candela R. Renzi E. Rudd COORDINATOR:Andres Aguirre HOST:Maria Eisenhart Andres Aguirre Ed Onorati Tony Friguls Paul Eisenhart 9:30 a.m. Fr. Luis Largaespada Gaby Lopez Jason Johnson K. Herrholz L. McCormick L. Moas L. Moas COORDINATOR:Barbara Henriques HOST:Charlie Henriques Eileen Fernandez-Silva Marisol Collins Alex Collins Mari Pinero Jorge Fernandez-Silva 11:00 a.m. Msgr. Jude O'Doherty Guillermo Castillo Ramon Garcia K. Bean R. Boudet D. Bunge G. Busto P. Cooper G. Downey M. Falcon T. Falcon COORDINATOR:Ray Casas HOST:Ani Diaz Jorge Diaz Manolo Dominguez Tere Larrieu Manolo Larrieu Ali Gilbert Maite Dominguez Ray Casas 12:30 p.m. Fr. Luis Largaespada Bernd Von. Reitzenstein Gisela Cacciamani J. Milan C. Parra COORDINATOR:Enrique Bludau HOST:Liliana Acosta Raul Zabala Tere Molins Luis Gonzalez Gloria Gonzalez Enrique Bludau Delfin Molins 6:00 p.m. Msgr. Jude O'Doherty Jorge Perez Julio Ramirez M. Mascaro C. Mirabal N. Molina R. Morfin D. Ramirez T. Rosell I. Suarez J. Tong COORDINATOR:Amanda Patino HOST:Amanda Patino Jeannette Iglesias Esther Sousa Rosy Verde Armando Verde Rene Iglesias Ana Maria Perez

6 Bulletin Board Stewardship Corner HOLD ON TO YOUR FAITH Christ s death had been a devastating blow to His Apostles. They truly were lost, and after the tragedy of the Cross, they were not prepared to believe again. When the women who first visited the tomb brought their reports of His rising, the Apostles did not believe. Then, the Risen Jesus Himself appeared to them, they thought they were seeing a ghost. The Gospels make no secret of their early doubts. Even later when Jesus appeared to the Apostles, they were looking for more proof. Jesus ate with them, and He had them touch His wounds. Thomas the Apostle needed the most proof... He would not believe until he himself could place his fingers into his wounds. Jesus suddenly appeared to Thomas and permitted him to touch His wounds. Thomas then believed and said, My Lord and my God. (John 20, 28) Many of us are just like the Apostles. There probably have been times in our lives when doubts crept up about our faith and belief in God. It was only our strong faith that helped us and the words of Jesus spoke to Thomas, Blessed are those who do not see or touch me and yet believe. Today is Easter. The Church celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus with happiness and joy. The Resurrection of Jesus not only confirms the Church s faith, but also the central mystery that God calls us to eternal life. When you gather with your family to celebrate Easter, thank God for your faith, and remember one day you will see the Risen Christ as long as You hold on to your faith! Happy Easter. April: National Child Abuse Prevention Month Virtus training is a child sex abuse awareness and prevention program that begins with a live training session and continues with monthly bulletins. Dirty Rats Ratters are people who use Remote Access Tools (RAT s) or malware to take people s computers and spy on them through the victim s webcams or built-in cameras. Malware stands for malicious software, which is a program designed to infiltrate computers, tablets, or smartphones for a variety of purposes and without the user s consent. As technology continues to change rapidly, all of us charged with protecting children must continue to stay abreast of the new programs and applications that may be used by predators to manipulate and exploit children. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament Monday - Friday (In the Church) 7:00-8:00 a.m. & 8:30-9:30 a.m. Thursdays (In the Adoration Chapel) 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Daily Mass Monday - Friday 6:30 a.m. & 8:00 a.m. Twenty five minutes with the Lord at the start of each day will make a big difference in your life.

7 Bulletin Board God s Transmitters When we accept God, we become not only possessors of God, but also transmitters of God. If we strive to keep God entirely to ourselves we will lose Him. The more we bestow in love and service and respect upon others, the more of God we shall ever have growing in our lives. The Preschool and The Holy Family Center Open during the 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. Masses. The Holy Family Center offers tender, loving care for young children from birth to 3 years of age.the Pre-school is a formal religion program based on the readings. Avail yourselves of this service to families. Children enjoy our program and you have the opportunity to worship without distractions! Welcome Whether you are visiting or new in the area, we extend to you the hospitality of Christ. If you would like more information about our parish, or wish to join our Faith Community, please call or stop by the Rectory. We are happy you are here! Parish Pilgrim Virgin Ministry During the week of April 20, the Parish Pilgrim Virgin will be in the home of: Annie Rodriguez Jesus & Maria Reyes To schedule your visit, please call Patricia & Luis Siman at Let your light shine The most important thing about each of us is our capacity for goodness. We can be a source of light. We have hands that care, eyes that can see, ears that can hear, tongues that can speak, feet that can walk, and above all, hearts that can love. Unfortunately, through laziness, selfishness, and cowardice, our light can be dimmed, so that we become shadows of the people we could be. Lord, help us to believe in our own goodness, and to let the light of that goodness shine. On seeing this light others find their way, and you will be glorified. PRAY FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL: Vasco Gonzalez Arbulu; Sr. Blanca Eugenia Arnaiz, R.A.; Zoraida Barreto; Joseph Bronzetti; Saraphina Cardenas; Graciela Caro; Mari Aixala Dawson; Natasha Durque; Gonzalo Estevez; Ana Alicia Fernandez; Humberto Gonzalez, Jr.; Mary Lawler; Angel David Martinez; Rosi Maza-Saez; Caridad Mora; Ali Aixala Price; John Michael Portuondo; Valeria Sofia Terrero; Teodula Wong. PRAY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED: Edualdo R. Aguila; Amalis Echevarria; Eugenia Balsinde Lubian; Livia Nauta.

8 The Community of Epiphany rejoices with the participants in The Rite of Christian Initiation as they complete their process of initiation into the Catholic Church. Jacqueline Andollo Michael Charles Bond Elizabeth Jean Carruthers Jimmy Diaz Nancy Khan Diaz Jeffrey Fiorentino Sonia Gilbride Zayda Lima Nina Cecilia Mas Richard Phillips Manolo Reboso Andrew Howard Umphress First Holy Communion and Profession of Faith, First Holy Communion and Baptism, First Holy Communion and First Holy Communion and First Holy Communion and Profession of Faith, First Holy Communion and