A Simple yet Amazing Story – St. Augustine when he was first introduced to the Christian faith, found it too simple and unsophisticated. Being a very bright and learned man, he was more interested in the philosophies and religions of his time. He even rose to a very high rank in his religion at the time. But one thing the “sophisticated” religions and philosophies of his time could not answer was the problem of evil and suffering. Through the cross of Jesus Christ, we not only see that injustice and evil exists in the world, as an innocent man was nailed to a cross, but through it we see also a God who is willing to suffer for us and with us.
Christianity looks simple, because Jesus, who is God incarnate, simplified it for us. He didn’t just teach us a lot of rules for us to remember, but he showed us by example what to do. Instead of saying to us, “do what I say,” instead He invites us to follow Him and imitate Him: to trust the goodness of our Heavenly Father, to be merciful and compassionate to one another, for we are all, ultimately, children of God.
And when we undergo hardships, He invites us to come to Him and lay our burdens with Him and He will carry it with us and for us. Through injustice, through sickness and even unto death, He walks with us. And we know that He understands our pain, because He Himself endured it so that we may find solace and companionship through our trials. Throughout Lent, through this past Holy Week, as we have sacrificed and walked with Him through His journey to the cross, He teaches us that we too will share in the joy of Easter Resurrection. In the end, darkness does not conquer Light, evil and death do not defeat goodness and life, but Love prevails, for God is Love. Ours is a simple, yet amazing story. Happy Easter!!!
Congratulations to Bret McManigal – Bret who has been studying with Sr. Catherine about the Catholic faith, and who was officially recognized as a candidate for baptism by Archbishop Cordileone last month at the Cathedral, was baptized at the Easter Vigil. We welcome him with joyful hearts. He is married to Kimberlea and they have 2 young children. Also in the Archdiocese, 159 adults were baptized into the Catholic faith and 255 adults were either received into the Church from another Christian tradition, or received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Congratulations and Welcome, to all our NEW Catholics!
Welcome, to all our Visitors – if you’re visiting our parish during Easter and if you don’t yet have a spiritual home, we invite you to consider making St. Brendan’s your new home. You can find more information about our parish and the myriads of activities here from Scouting, to Knitting, to Bible Study, Book Club, Habitat for Humanity and more by visiting our website at www.stbrendanparish.org. We are also on Facebook. Contact us if you’d like more information at 415-681-4225 or frdan@stbrendanparish.org.
Happy Easter!
Fr. Dan
