The last weekend of April is here and the month of
Mary, May, is upon us. I really cannot believe that 4
months of the “New Year” has gone by. I wanted to take
a quick moment and thank everyone for the Easter
cards, gifts, and prayers! I am so very blessed to be a
part of the incredible family here at Saint Paul’s!

We are still very much in the Easter Season! Our
readings from Scripture during this time are rich in infor-
mation on the history of the Church. We here this week-
end how Peter and the Apostles baptized 3,000 new
members in one day. Jesus created the single largest
movement in the history of the world. The early Church
was under constant harassment and threats from gov-
ernments, other types of faith, and even their own mem-
bers. Sound familiar? The devil never ceases to try and
destroy what Christ had built, and he grows more frus-
trated because he knows he will never win. In Satan’s
pride he does his best to take us down, and sadly so
many allow this to happen in their lives. Most of these
lost people have no idea what they are dealing with, but
their love of power and money surpasses anything else.
Even many Catholics, sadly, fall prey to the ideologies
of their favorite politicians. It used to make me angry,
and now, it just makes me sad.

In our Gospel reading this weekend, we hear Jesus
teach about this very lesson. Too many fall victim to
the “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” They allow themselves
to be tempted with the “comforts” that society promises
them. Unfortunately many do not realize until it is too
late that they have been scammed. These humans be-
ings who lust after power and control find themselves
constantly lying to cover up these false promises that
they cannot deliver on. They also try to take out those
who stand for the truth. We see this in how our govern-
ment has been investigating members of the Catholic
faith. (The only church they have sent undercover
agents into.) If you don’t believe that the Catholic
Church is not the One True Church of Jesus Christ,
what will it take after hearing those claims?

Jesus teaches us that it is His voice that His sheep
will hear, and that it is His teachings that the true
believers will follow! We have in our baptismal
promise to spread the faith and live a life with Jesus
Christ at the center of it. I promise you, you will never
find happiness or freedom in the hollow promises of
human beings. No matter what they say or do, they are
not God. We must decide, for ourselves, what side do
we fall on? Whom will we stand for? What will you do
this Easter Season to give your life fully to Jesus
Christ?

I wanted to give everyone another reminder about our
Easter Season Mission with Father Gary George! We are
so excited to welcome him back, and once again those
dates are May 22nd, 23rd, & 24th. We are still working on
start times as of this publishing, but we are hoping to
start at 6:30pm. We hope to see everyone there and as
always, you will not be disappointed in what you hear that
evening. Focus on the Joy!!! God bless!