Have you ever tried to explain the Resurrection of Jesus to anyone? Not easy to do. You have to use tangible images to get the message of transformation across. Well, it's like the baby chick that cracks open the egg when it hatches! Or, you know how the caterpillar weaves a cocoon and, after a time, a beautiful butterfly emerges! Or, when you plant a tiny seed in the dirt, you can't see what's going on, but eventually the new life of a plant or a flower pokes out of the ground and grows! The scriptures we hear at Easter are wonderful, yet challenging, as the biblical authors struggle to capture the story of the Christ-event which is at the center of our Christian faith. As one writer says: The narrative of Jesus' resurrection is as fragmented, shadowy, incomplete as life itself. When it comes to just what happened, there can be no certainty. That something unimaginable happened, there can be no doubt.

That "unimaginable something" which takes place in Our Lord's resurrection and will take place in our own is the power of God's love for us - a love that knows no limits and a love that even death cannot conquer. May the depth of God's love fill your homes and hearts during this Easter Festival.

On Holy Thursday we join with Jesus at the table of the Eucharist to commemorate his Last Supper and to renew our desire to become bread for a hungry world. On Good Friday we remember Our Lord's passion and death as we promise to die to ourselves and to live for God and for one another. On Holy Saturday we await Jesus' resurrection and welcome new members into the community through the water of Baptism and the oil of Confirmation. Then, on Easter - the Sunday of Sundays - we discover once more the heart and soul of the Church: a people redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and restored to fullness of life in Christ.

Below is the Triduum schedule. We count on your presence and your generosity so that St. Perpetua Church can be an effective and inspirational source of new life to the people we serve and to the world that the Risen Lord desires us to transform. When you cannot be present with the community at public prayer, allow these days to be a special time of spiritual renewal for your children and family at home and in your travels. Let the saving death and victorious resurrection of Our Lord bring his grace and power to your lives, and may the inner gifts that Easter brings be shared with all the world which seeks freedom, justice, equality and peace.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter,

Father John Kasper, osfs   

THE TRIDUUM

(from sundown on Holy Thursday until sundown on Easter Sunday) is the culmination of the forty days of the great fast of Lent, and the doorway to the great celebration of the Easter Season. It is the focal point of the entire liturgical year. In these three days we experience all that it means to be a Christian community.

Holy Thursday, April 5: The Lord's Supper, 7:30 p.m.                  

Good Friday, April 6: Stations of the Cross, 1:15 p.m.

                               The Lord's Passion, 2:00 p.m.

Easter Vigil, April 7: The Lord's Resurrection, 8:00 p.m.

Easter Sunday, April 8: 8:00, 9:30, 11:30 a.m.

(Easter Egg hunt for the children after 9:30 Mass) 

During Easter break we will not have Faith Formation classes. No classes on Sunday, April 1 or Tuesday, April 3.

Classes will resume:

Tuesday, April 10

Sunday, April 15

All 2nd grade children preparing for First Eucharist this spring are asked to attend:

First Eucharist Retreat: Sunday, April 22, 2012, 11:30 Mass followed by picnic lunch and preparation for the sacrament.

If you have questions please contact Kristine at 283-0272#204