GOD SOURCE OF LIFE: The Old Testament depicts God as the Father of Israel and personifies God with terms such as WORD (Heb, dabar), SPIRIT (ruah),WISDOM (hokmah),and PRESENCE (shekinah). In antiquity, God the Father were synonyms; God the Father is source of all of creation (Gk., Pantokrator) (Gen 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa 6:2-3). Early liturgical and creedal fragments refer to God as the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and St. Paul instructs his readers to offer all praise to God through Jesus Christ and indeed to do all things in the name of Jesus Christ. Some texts mention the name of both Father and Son, or God and Christ (Rom 4:21; 8:11; 2Cor 4:14; Col 2:12; 1Tim 2:5-6; 6:13; 2Tim 4:1) and a few link the names of Father, Son, and Spirit (Mt 28:19; Mt 3:16-17; Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15). The text from Eph 1:3-14 deserves special mention, it summarizes the basic providential plan of salvation initiated by God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and consummated in the Holy Spirit. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ guide us always.

Pentecost Sunday: (Greek, The fiftieth day) the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles (Acts 2:1-41)[occurred] fifty days after Easter. The liturgical feast that celebrates the event is particularly regarded as the birthday of the Church because from that point on the Apostles carried the message of our Lord Jesus Christ to the whole world. The feat of Pentecost is also known as Witsunday. The Greek name was originally given to the Feast of Weeks (Tob. 2:1), which fell on the fiftieth day after Passover. The Apostolic Church was born on that day of Pentecost and we are gathered here to "renew the mystery of that great day".

Let us pray to the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts and refresh our lives. "Veni Sancte Spiritus" "Come, Holy Spirit, and from heaven direct on man the rays of your light. Come, Father of the poor; come, giver of God's gifts; come. light of men's hearts." "Veni Creator Spiritus."

Come down, O Love Divine, Seek thou this soul of mine and shine ever on my sight and wherein makes his dwelling in my heart. Amen.

Alleluia.
Christ the Lord ascendeth into heaven; O come let is adore Him.
Alleluia.

Awaiting Pentecost: Year after year, in her liturgy, the Church celebrates the Ascension of the Lord on the fortieth day after Easter. Year after year she passes the ten days from Ascension to Pentecost in prayer to the Holy Spirit. In a certain sense, year after year, the Church prepares herself for her birth anniversary. As the Fathers teach, she was born on the Cross on Good Friday; she revealed her birth to the world on the day of Pentecost, when the Apostles were "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49), when they were "baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5). God dwells in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us the impulse to pray, the Spirit puts the words on our lips in defense of our faith. The Spirit unites us into one body. The Holy Spirit is strength, light, fire, and the flame of Divine Love. The celebration today commemorates the infusion of the Holy Spirit into the Apostles. The commemoration of the Holy Spirit not only helps us to reflect, but also to examine our conscience and relive the sacramental presence of the Holy Spirit within us all. AMEN.

“Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of Angels --- Jesus Christ, our King, is Risen”. (Lk 24:1-7; Mt 28:1-6; Mk16:1-7; Jn 20:11-18)

On this beautiful day of Easter Sunday, God our Father invites us to rejoice together with the heavenly powers, angels and together with the members of Holy Cross Church.

We Rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior, we rejoice because Christ Jesus lives within our hearts, within our families and within our community, yes, Jesus Christ the Risen Lord lives and is the hope of a new beginning, the beginning of a new journey with a new redemptive heart, God’s supreme act of love is His greatest gift to humanity, His Son.

Jesus Christ conquered the power of death with His Sublime, Unique and Divine act of Love for us, He gave us the power of the Holy Spirit, pouring into our hearts the source of Grace to change ourselves so that humanity might flourish again with values and the fire of true love, true respect for human life in its diverse stages, to recuperate the Sanctity of Matrimony, the Sanctity of every Sacrament and the Sanctity of God’s Creation.

Let not this Easter Sunday pass through time as another Religious holiday, therefore lets us be inspired and sustained by the power of Christ’s Resurrection, building the new City of God, shaping our world with dialogue, unity and with peace among all humankind.

The Body and Blood of the Risen Christ will be our strength, rejoice and be glad in it, The Lord is Risen, Christ Jesus has Risen Indeed. Alleluia, Alleluia.

Easter Sunday: The first proof of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is what took place on the morning of Easter Sunday.

When Saturday had passed and dawn was taking place; Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb….t

“Then the Angel of the Lord 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”. (Mt 28, 1.5.6).

The announcement of this angel has given all humanity the transcendental and joyous news. Jesus, the crucified lives, He lives never to die. He lives a transcendental life, but authentic and real.

All who believe in Christ believes in the resurrected Christ, in Christ the Redeemer who now lives. “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever”. (Ap 1, 18). Alleluia, Alleluia; this is our joyous song, because Jesus Christ has resurrected ….

Alleluia, Alleluia

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Col 3, 1).

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THE TIME OF TRUTH:
Every Christian is actually called by the Church to prayer, penitence, and fasting during this holy time of Lent, to interior and exterior shedding oneself. He stands before God and recognizes what he is. He-rediscovers himself. We must remember our fundamental vocation: we come from God, we will return to God with the prospect of Resurrection, the path blazed by Christ. "Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." (Lk. 14:27) So it is a time of deep truth about our relations with "Our Father." It is a time which enlightens us and lets us understand better that we also must serve and help one another, like Christ. "I give you a new commandment: love one another" (Jn. 13:34) "And who is my neighbor?" (Lk. 10:29).
Lent is presented in the likeness of a path, a journey for us; we are called to to face it with determination and to entrust ourselves to the project which God has for us. It is a new life, which can be realized only through the "power" and the "grace" of God, a mysterious power for saving "the inward man" in each of us. (Eph. 3:16). He, the man, is often forgotten, yet he is created "in justice and holiness" (Eph. 4:24) through the operation of the sufferings and the resurrection of Christ. Come, let us go down on bended knees before God, and strive for a holy life during this Lenten Season.

Lenten Season: Lenten season is the liturgical season of fasting, prayer and abstinence. The number of forty days is noted in the canons of the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), likely an imitation of Jesus' fast in the desert before His public ministry. Lenten reminds us the sufferings, passion, and death on the Cross of our Savior Jesus Christ, it is the unique event that we celebrate.

So God loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in Him shall not perish, but will have eternal life. (Jn 3:16)

And during this time the Universal Church was linked to the pastoral and liturgical preparation of Catechumens for baptismal for Easter Vigil. It was a very important time for the whole Church in which everyone takes seriously the fasting prayer and abstinence of Lent; to purify their hearts from their sins and be in communion with God.

This is also an appropriate time recommended by the Church to approach the Sacrament of Confession. The Sacrament of Confession refreshes our souls, from all the burdens and sins that our souls accumulate during the year. The Grace of God is available in such sacrament.

"Keep your Bible open and you will not find the door of Heaven closed."