CHRIST THE REDEEMER CATHOLIC CHURCH 46833 Harry Byrd Highway
Sterling, Virginia 20164

Easter 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Risen Christ,

Alleluia! The Lord lives. Death is conquered. Sin is forgiven. Hope is our’s once again.

It is with great joy that the Church here at Christ the Redeemer welcomes literally thousands of believers to the wonderful celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. Our world today is changed and the risen Christ is made visible in his People, the Body of Christ. In an increasingly secular world, the highways and avenues of our neighborhoods are moving with people en route to gather for Easter Eucharist. Our parking lot overflows and the vision of people actually walking surprises us.The Church gathers and the expectation is that the Lord touches our minds and hearts with an invitation to faith.

As the holy women of the gospel sought out their Rabbi that first Easter Sunday, believers seek him out today. As Peter and John heard the “tale” of the empty tomb, their ultimate surprise and wonder was not about the emptiness of the tomb, but about the full presence of the Lord who ate and drank with them in victory over death. The gospel witnesses that he moved and spoke among them, broke bread, and filled them with his Spirit. As a community of belief, we come today as we hear his Word, break bread, pour out a cup, and are moved to new life in the Spirit. As we gather to share with each other, it’s not about the unseen and unspoken. It’s not about the sad past of sin and death. It’s not about the tears and the heartache.

In the primitive Church, the people gathered on the Lord’s Day to know the Lord, now alive from the dead, among them. They learned of his presence by his Word and by his actions among them. Because he lived and because they found him among them, believers were gathered around his Table to know him in the breaking of the bread and in the pouring out of his cup. Today we are the gathered believers and in him the sad past is conquered, we live in the wonder of the present moment, and in the Lord we have blessed hope.

Thank you for being with us today. Thank you for often sharing at the Lord’s Table through the Sundays of the year. Savor the moment. In the words of the psalm, “taste and see” the Lord. The Word we have seen and known let us take with us to our families, friends, and to our world. Christ is our peace and our victory over sin and death. Let us become peace and victory for the people of the earth, for the Lord lives in us.

The Great Fifty Days of Easter and Pentecost open the fount of grace to us. Enter those days with the blessings and rejoicing of the Lord among us People.

Alleluia!

Sincerely,

(Fr.) C. Donald Howard, SA
Pastor