Dear St. Gabriel Parishioners:
CONGRATULATION
AUXILIARY BISHOP FRANK SCHUSTER
GREAT NEWS …. Tuesday, May 3rd – 2:00 PM at St. James Cathedral, Seattle is the Episcopal Ordination of the Most Reverend Frank Schuster as Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle, in the present of the Most Reverend Christophe Pierre – Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America.
JESUS IS RISEN … ALLELUIA!!! a familiar phrase for all Christians, but so special for all of us to proclaim not just with our lips but living as witnesses to this new reality. May the “risen Christ” bless you and all your families in this Holy Easter Season and throughout the whole year.
It is that time of the year where we are very well aware of the “universal Church” in this Easter Season, but we also notice of how we are formed together in this “Local Church of the Archdiocese of Seattle”. May I ask you to pray for the success of the Annual Catholic Appeal on “Announcement Sunday this weekend”? Materials about the Annual Catholic Appeal may already have come to you this past week or very shortly, as we share God’s gifts to us in supporting our common ministries in the Archdiocese. Individually we cannot respond to all the legitimate needs of the people of God in the Archdiocese; but TOGETHER, we will be able to accomplish the need for all people of God.
Scripture Reading for this Third Sunday of Easter from the Acts of the Apostles, is the story of what we hear in our First Reading are the jealous leaders of the religious establishment confronting Peter and the others with their being disobedient to previous orders to be silent about preaching of the Risen Christ in the Temple. After reviewing how Jesus had been silenced by being hanged at the hands of these very leaders, Peter and the other apostles leave in high spirits, because they had been proven worthy by being treated in the same way as Jesus did.
There are some quite touching scenes in today’s Gospel. The first is that of Peter and his companions who decide to return to the life from which Jesus had called them . . . fishing. Jesus, who had told them at his washing of their feet that apart from him they could do nothing, do nothing for their all-night fishing. When it was already dawn, the great Fisherman appears and catches them according to what catches fisherman, a great catch of fish. So here again we have the favorite theme of John, bad things happen at night and Jesus as light does great things during the daylight. They come to the realization that it is the Lord and the catch becomes secondary, at least for a while.
Congratulation to our newly Confirmation Youth from both St. Gabriel Parish and Prince of Peace Parish. They have completed their Initiation Process with received the Sacrament of Confirmation by Bishop Eusebio Elizondo at St. Gabriel Church, last Wednesday, April 27. The “common theme” from many of our young people’s desire to be confirmed came from: A deepening of their faith; a realization of living faith as an adult and an opportunity to participate in many different ministries to serve our parish community.
Please remember to pray for “the children” from our parish community who are preparing for their First Communion – an encounter of Christ in the Sacrament of Eucharist for the first time in their lives – on Sunday May 8 at the 11:00 AM Mass.
As we will begin a new month of May, where the Church traditionally celebrate our Blessed Mother, Mary in a special way; the Legion of Mary members and devoted parishioners are inviting us to pray together as a community before Mass the “Mysteries of the Rosary – a meditative prayer in the life of Jesus and our Blessed Mother, Mary”. May this tradition and our “common prayer – the Rosary” extending to our family at home and in our own individual time, the necessity of praying always.
Christ’s Peace,
Fr. Phuong Hoang