Hard to believe we have arrived at the 5th Sunday of Easter, and it’s almost even tougher to believe that May is here! Time continues to just move right along in spite of everything that is going on in theworld today. I look forward to, and continue to pray, for calmer times. These times are unprecedented, and they never seem to end, but we must continue to have faith and hope in our Lord and Savior’s resurrection from the grave! Jesus continues to concur death and evil, and does so at the right Hand of God! Our Easter hope needs to be stronger than ever, and we must really utilize all the gifts He has given us! We are so very fortunate to have a vibrant Mass here at Saint Paul’s! We have such an amazing Parish family, and we must lift up and support each other on this journey more than ever!

Our Gospel reading this weekend is a powerful one! Je-sus is once again teaching His disciples, and is speaking about the “fruit of the vine.” Jesus tells us that “He is the vine and we are the branches.” We need the strength of the “Vine” to grow and bear fruit! We cannot bear fruit without Him, and we cannot grow in these times without being rooted in His word and love. It is so easy to get off course with our faith, and when we have rooted our lives in Him, we give ourselves the opportunity to constantly grow in hope! This is always easier said than done, believe me. I seem to “grow and wilt” all in the same day at times, but if I remain with Him; He will always give me what I need to regenerate all over again. The trick is to never give up and keep moving forward! Our faith is an exercise that we must continue to workout with, because it is very easy to drop our guard. Once we drop that guard we lose focus on His will and love for our lives, and that’s when the pain and frustration sets in.

Every Easter Season is a gift from God Himself to feed our faith, so that hope may grow in us every day. We cannot get down on ourselves when challenges arise, and we feel that we have abandoned our faith. These times are reminders to us that we must continue to fight for the love of our faith, and continue to seek His face as we journey towards heaven! Let us continue to journey together this Easter Season, and seek the joy of our Lord! Take some time and read Psalm 91 for better protection in these trying times, and feed your soul to grow for His Kingdom!

Have an amazing week!