Can You imagine the Peace he felt?

What Love, forgiveness, healing and peace the Good Thief would have experienced even when he heard Jesus say “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

What lead him to this Peace was what he was seeing in Jesus’ Suffering; an innocent man and his words of Love and forgiveness from the Cross “Father Forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”  The other Criminal saw and heard the same but had a different response. The Good Criminal confessed his own sin and guilt and asked for forgiveness. He asked Jesus only to ‘remember him in his Kingdom’, and Jesus said I will not only remember you, “You will be with me in Paradise”. What Love, forgiveness and Peace he must have experienced from that moment on.

We could imagine that Thief would have offered every remaining suffering he was experiencing for Jesus and for all those he had hurt in his life. His suffering now would become his penance offered for others. What Peace and light, what Resurrection and new Life already flowing from the Cross of Jesus.

Let’s pray this Resurrection (Easter) Day and onwards the Peace that flowed from the Cross of Jesus, will flow through our Parish, our Families and each and every one of us.

A new volunteer this year said to me “until now I did not realise how many people put so much in to help with Holy Week”

We pray this Peace flows in a special way upon all our parish volunteers here at Our Lady and the Mass Centres for their time and efforts helping us experience a Sacred and Powerful Passion (Holy) Week, the Sisters, the Arabic and English Choirs, the Ladies & Florists who prepared the Altar for Hosanna (Palm) Sunday, Thursday  of the Mysteries, Good Friday & Easter, the men for the Holy Thursday Altar of Repose & Tomb, the Eucharistic Ministers, our Sacristan, the Altar Servers, the Holy Thursday Apostles,  volunteer Traffic Controllers, plate collectors, photographers, all the Ladies and men who provided nourishment and drinks for us after the Liturgies at the tables and the Bakery and all our wonderful teams of Committee members who serve Christ and His people in our Parish.

 

A Joyful and Peace-filled Easter to all.

AlMassih Quam المسيح قام !!     

Monsignor Shora Maree

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