Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

April 20, 2025

GOSPEL MEDITATION

When I was a young boy, my parents told me about their wedding. Then a few years later, they showed me my mother’s wedding dress and my dad’s suit. It was astonishing to see and touch garments that connected me to the event that led to my existence. Of course, I already believed they were married based on their word. But these holy garments made the event real and tangible for me.

Something like this is at play when St. John reports encountering in Jesus’ tomb, “the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” (John 20:7). Those two separate cloths, for his head and for his body respectively, meant a great deal to St. John and to the early Christians. Some years after the resurrection, there surfaced reports of two cloths with unusual characteristics, one bearing the image of a crucified man’s body, another smaller one with the image of a wounded man’s face. Some call them the Shroud of Turin and the Veil of Manoppello; they both can be seen today.

These two cloths have a long and complicated history, and scholars debate aspects of them. If you’re curious, I encourage you to read about them. To be clear, I believe in the resurrection of Jesus because of the testimony of eyewitnesses and the gift of faith in the Church. Nevertheless, seeing these two mysterious cloths have made the life-giving event of Jesus’ resurrection more real and tangible for me. Maybe they will for you, too.
- Father John Muir

PRO-LIFE CORNER

“What irony that a society confronted with plastic bags filled with the remains of aborted babies should be more concerned about the problem of recycling the plastic.” Plastic can be recycled; children cannot.
- Winifred Egan

ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is scheduled today April 20th and April 27th at Sacred Heart Church following the 12:00 noon Masses. Eucharistic Adoration is adoring the True Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ– His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity-in the Holy Eucharist.

FAMILY PERSPECTIVE

Today’s gospel instructs us Jesus “had to rise from the dead.” The dying we experience with unmet expectations in marriage and parenting is normal to family life. Families must rise above disappointments and be Easter people all year long.
- Bud Ozar

EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP

He is risen! He is truly risen! This is what the celebration of Easter is all about – the truth that Jesus was crucified for our sins and three days later rose from the dead, conquering death once and for all. We proclaim this truth every Sunday in the Nicene Creed: “For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered death and was buried and rose again on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures.” Amazing!

We know it’s true, but this Easter Sunday, let’s ask ourselves if we live as if it’s true. Do we simply recite this portion of our Creed week after week, or do we live as witnesses to this glorious reality? And how are we, as Christian stewards, to live as a ‘witness’ all these years later without firsthand knowledge? We may have to look a little more closely to ‘bear witness’, but if we try then we can have just as real an experience of the empty tomb and the redeeming power of the Resurrection.

We become witnesses of His glory when we: prayerfully read the Scriptures knowing they are a living love letter from God with a message to each one of us, each time we receive the precious Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist, when we experience His personal and healing power in our hearts during Reconciliation, and when we pour out our lives in loving service to those around us and experience the deep satisfaction that only comes when we are imitating our Saviour. This Easter, don’t just recite the Creed – resolve to live as if it’s true. Experience Jesus for yourself every day from now on. You will be a powerful witness to the truth that He is risen! He is truly risen!
- Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

NEEDED! EXTRAORDINARY MINISTER OF HOLY COMMUNION

Sacred Heart Church is seeking dedicated parishioners to serve as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Current Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion and those interested in becoming new EOMs are encouraged to volunteer their time and talents. For more information contact the church office at 814-943-8553.

Prayer Requests

Kathy Ansman, Mark Blackie, Rod Baronner, Dan Bauer, Dave Bauer, Damian Branas, Vince Bumann, Jack Chilcote, Harry Chirdon, Karen Claar, Brandon Conaway, Shirley Conlon, Denise Conrad, James Conrad, Kathy Corl, William Costlow, Bob Decker, Colette DiMemmo, Margaret Dodson, Tim Dodson, Joan Donnelly, Matthew Dorman, Nate Dorman, Amelia Doughurty, Lois Duncan, Thomas Duncan, Sam Dunio, Paul Dunmire, Ashley Eagen, Corinda Ermin, Herman Frederick, Pat Harpster, Leighton Hess, Dolly Holzer, Lucy Horton, Raymond Kargo, Carol Keagy, Kenny Anthony Keagy, Russell Keith John Kleine, Sue Koehle, Ruth Lamca, Cyndi Lansberry, John Leshene, Beth Lloyd, Charles McGrain, Shirley McIntyre, Mason Wayne McManus, Paul Angelo Morelli, Bev Mueller, Bonnie Neal, Jessica Neff, Lee Neff, Kevin O'Rourke, Mark Pacifico, Sarah Rihnovich, Gary Rupert Jr, Nancy Servello, Laura Snyder, Alex Walter, Margo Wascherl, Alan Watson, Joan Weston, Hank Williams, Renee Williams, Mikayla Yanchik.

If you would like to add a sick or hospitalized person to our prayer list or readd a person, please call the rectory office, at 943-8553. Parishioners of Saint Mary are encouraged and welcome to participate. Remember, you must have the permission of the ill person/family to publish their name.

Sacred Heart Church