Jesus' Glorious Resurrection, as depicted in stained glass at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him."
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. (John 20: 1-9).
The Archdiocese of Saint Louis wishes everyone a most blessed Easter!
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An Image of Divine Mercy
St. Faustina died of tuberculosis in 1938 at age 33. Pope John Paul II canonized her in 2000. That same year, the pontiff declared Divine Mercy Sunday a worldwide feast day. Two years later, he instituted a plenary indulgence for those who participate in the devotion.
To receive the graces of the plenary indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday, the message of Christ requests that the faithful prepare in the following ways:
- Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation with true repentance on or before Divine Mercy;
- On Divine Mercy Sunday, receive a worthy Communion and venerate the image of Divine Mercy;
- The faithful also are strongly encouraged to pray the novena of Divine Mercy, which begins today, Good Friday, and ends the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday; pray the Divine Mercy chaplet; and be merciful toward others through words, actions and prayers. Priests also have been asked to preach about mercy on Divine Mercy Sunday.
This year, 28 parishes in the archdiocese will offer Divine Mercy celebrations. A list of the parishes can be found at stlouisreview.com, and if you intend to pray the Divine Mercy Novena, you can sign up for email reminders each day at About.com's Divine Mercy Novena page.
Read more in this week's Saint Louis Review.
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If you were looking for a college seminarian during spring break, you would not have found them on the beach or vacationing far from home. Instead, you would have found them in the classrooms of elementary and high schools across the Archdiocese of St. Louis speaking about vocations and encouraging the young men and women in our Catholic schools to open their hearts to the call of Christ.
In a spirit of generosity the seminarians of Cardinal Glennon College Seminary returned to the seminary three days early to prepare themselves for Vocation Days, an opportunity to take the invitation of Christ directly to the students in the classroom. The idea, created by Msgr. Timothy Cronin, Rector of Cardinal Glennon College Seminary, allowed the seminarians to reflect on their own vocation story and share it with students in the classroom. It also allowed the seminarians to plant the seeds of a vocation in the hearts of hundreds of young men and women.
Msgr. Edward Rice, Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of St. Louis was overwhelmed by the response from principals and DRE's. "I just started calling the different parishes I have not been able to visit this year and within two days I had twenty-four schools on board. We had to juggle some schedules, but everyone was so cooperative." And the results were outstanding. "I had principals calling me before the seminarians were back asking to be put on the list for next year", said Msgr. Rice. "I thought, 'Next year! We have to finish the program for this year first!'"
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 Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the 40 days of Lent, which is a period of time during which we as Catholics prepare for Easter through prayer and penance. On Ash Wednesday, we receive blessed on our foreheads, as a public sign of sorrow for sinfulness.
Throughout the season of Lent, the Archdiocese of Saint Louis will prepare alongside the faithful for the coming of Christ on Easter Sunday. As we look forward to that glorious event, we are called to increase our faith and holiness through penitential practices during Lent. The following guidelines appear in this week's Saint Louis Review:
The Church has always helped us fulfill these words of Jesus by prescribing very definite penance for all Catholics. Accordingly, the pope and the American bishops have outlined obligatory fast and abstinence as follows:
- Ash Wednesday (Feb. 25) and Good Friday (April 10) are days of abstinence for all Catholics over the age of 14. On these two days, fast as well as abstinence is also obligatory for those from the ages of 18 to 59. Abstinence means abstinence from meat. Fast means one full meal a day, with two smaller meals and nothing between meals (liquids are permitted). No Catholic will lightly excuse himself or herself from this obligation.
- All other Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat. Here again Catholics will not hold themselves lightly excused, but if there is a serious health problem, this obligation would not apply.
- We should strive to make all days of Lent a time of prayer and penance.
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