My Dear Friends, Today is called Good Shepherd Sunday. The Gospel reading, from St. John, recalls our Lord's words where he acknowledges himself as the Good Shepherd and how he protects his sheep from the wolves. Pastors, in fact all priests, are called to be good shepherds as well, protecting God's people from attacks from the wolves. Our society has many wolves; some in sheep's clothing no less. It is so important for us as a church, the universal Catholic Church as well as our local Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Hartford and our Parish of St. John Paul the Great that we pray for vocations to the priesthood.

My Dear Friends,

On April 29th, we will be asking for nominations for our parish council. We are looking for four new members. It is a three year term, and we meet on the second Monday from 7-8 from September to June. Once we receive the names for nominations, we will contact the persons to see if they are willing to serve, and on May 20th, we will hold the final vote.

The parish council is an advisory committee that comes together to discuss parish issues and concerns, as well as fundraisers and events. A parish council member first and foremost must be someone who loves our Church and our faith. He or she must be positive in outlook, looking to be part of a solution. Parish council members must also embrace that we are one parish. Any issue or concern or discussion that happens is placed under the umbrella of St. John Paul the Great. Parish council members cannot be attached only to one church building and not have concern for the parish as a whole. My responsibility as the pastor is to make sure that both church buildings are maintained and each campus also maintained. It is the concern of every parishioner, let alone every parish council member, to have stewardship over every building in our parish, which currently has 12 buildings.

My Dear Friends,

Today, the Second Sunday of Easter, is also called by many, thanks to Pope St. John Paul II, Divine Mercy Sunday, many Catholics find spiritually uplifting. The Gospel reading at this Mass is the appearance of Jesus to the Apostles St. Thomas was missing. He doubted the other ten Apostles, claiming that he would not believe unless he touched his side. St. Thomas responds with the words, "My Lord and My God." Between this Gospel passage of the Doubting Thomas and the prayers of the Mass itself, it is only fitting that the Octave of Easter ends with a Mass emphasizing Mass of Divine Mercy on the Second Sunday of Easter.

My Dear Friends,

Today is Easter Sunday! Christus resurrexit! Resurrrexit vere! Khristos anesti! Alithos anesti! Christos voskrese! Voistinu voskrese! Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał! Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto! ¡En verdad resucitó! Le Christ est ressuscité! En verité il est ressuscité! Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!!

My Dear Friends,

It is that time of year again when the Archdiocese honors those volunteers recommended by the pastor forthe annual St. Joseph medal. St. Joseph is the patron saint of our Archdiocese. He is also an important figurein the Gospels, even though he does not have a spoken word attributed to him. He is traditionally a quiet andunassuming man who went about his business and was a support for his wife, our Blessed Mother, and for herSon, Jesus Christ. He took no credit for the good works that he quietly performed.

It seems that some parishioners would like to know about our parish council. A parish council is an advisory board of parishioners to help the pastor concerning parish concerns, events and situations. Parish council members should have a pulse on what the concerns of the parish are and be active in helping with possible fundraisers. The pastor may also bring questions to the parish council for advice for something specific.

When we became one parish, St. John Paul the Great, I decided to combine the four parish council of the four previous parishes. But I also wanted a manageable parish council, so I decided upon three members from each church. Some willingly stepped aside before we took a vote. At the end of the process, I had my twelve members from the four previous parishes. They are listed in the parish bulletin. I also added a thirteenth member, from the Spanish community, and the parish council also has ex-officio members that are a part of the parish council because of their role in the church.

Think of what it's like to wait a long time. Can you imagine what it would be like to wait for centuries? No one person lives that long, of course. But for the Israelites, they had heard the stories from generation to generation. They had been conquered time and time again, and now "the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ." They had been waiting for a Messiah, one who did miraculous deeds and said profound things; someone aglow with the glory of God.