April 18th 2025_Catholic Standard

Continue to grow in and live

His Lordship Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB has given the following message for Easter:

EasterMessage2025

In the Opening Prayer at the Mass on Ash Wednesday we prayed “Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service…” A campaign, according to the Oxford dictionary, is “an organized course of action to achieve a goal”. As this applies to Lent, the organized course of action that is encouraged is a discipline that could include fasting and prayer, exercising some restraint in our daily life or adding some outreach, charity or good works to what we already do. Hopefully as we look back we would be able to tick some of those boxes in so far as we were able to offer ourselves the spirit of Lent. In Chapter 49 of the Rule of St. Benedict it says “The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent”; not only the forty days set aside on our calendar but always alive with a flavor of campaign of Christian service towards a goal. During Lent, some of the prayers at our Masses offered for the faithful pointed us to the goal. To quote a few:

as they follow the Lenten observances, they may be worthy to come with minds made pure to the celebration of the Paschal Mystery of your ”

Sanctify your faithful in body and mind for the celebration of the Paschal festivities.” “May the venerable exercises of (please turn to page 12)

Pope thanks medical team that cared for him during hospitalization - p2

4,000 process in Jerusalem for Palm Sunday amid Israeli bombardment of Gaza - p3

A Christian Perspective on Social Issues - p4

Sunday Scripture - p5

Caribbean Episcopal Conferences hold Regional Meeting - p6

On Palm Sunday, recovering pope says to carry the cross with compassion - p7

France to see 17,800 catechumens baptized at Easter, with requests still ‘pouring in’ - p8

Children’s Page - p9

Veil of Veronica a sign of hope for modern times, Vatican official says - p10

Vatican updates norms on donations for special Mass intentions - p10

Churches East and West celebrate Easter the same day in 2025 - p11

Daily Easter activities for families - p13

20th Annual Bible Quiz Finals held - p14

Next Issue May 2

The next issue of the Catholic Standard will be on FridayMay2nd.

Have a blessed and peaceful Easter.

Bishop’s Engagements

EasterSunday,April20th

17:00hrs – Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Brickdam

EasterMonday,April21st

06:00hrs – Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Brickdam

Wednesday,April23rd

09:00hrs – AEC Meeting via Zoom

Sunday,April27th

08:00hrs - Mass at St. Anthony, Bartica

The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Francis personally thanked the health care workers and medical staff who cared for him in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for 38 days while he recovered from respiratory infections.

“Thank you, thank you above all for what you did,” the pope told leaders and staff from Gemelli hospital, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart which oversees the facility and the Vatican’s health department.

The 20-minute meeting took place April 16 in a room behind the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall and included about 70 people, the Vatican press office said.

“Thank you,” the pope said, gesturing toward Elena Beccalli, rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. “When women are in charge, things go (forward),” he joked with a smile.

Daniele Franco, president of the board of directors of the Gemelli Foundation, opened the meeting with greetings, Easter wishes and words of support for the pope’s ongoing recovery.

In response, Pope Francis told the group, “I pray for you; please, do so for me, thank you. And thank you for your service in the hospital, very good, keep it up.”

Pope Francis is more than three weeks into a two-month convalescence prescribed by his doctors during which they recommended he not meet with big groups to avoid being exposed to infections.

The meeting with the medical staff was the pope’s first public meeting since he was discharged from the hospital. An edited video of the meeting released by the Vatican did not show the pope individually greeting or shaking hands with attendees.❖

Sunday amid Israeli bombardment of Gaza

JERUSALEM (OSV News) For the second year in a row, few foreign pilgrims were in attendance at the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives into the Old City of Jerusalem due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. But even the gray skies that threatened rain didn’t dampen the spirit of the 4,000 participants.

Most of them were Christians from Jerusalem and the Galilee, as well as a few Christians from the West Bank, foreign diplomats and NGO employees, members of religious orders and foreign workers. Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims, with their traditionally embroidered-trimmed white gowns, also took part in the procession, as in 2025 the festivals of all the Orthodox and Catholic churches converge.

Some 6,000 initial travel permits were issued for West Bank Christians to attend Holy Week celebrations, with an additional 2,000 expected later in the week but not yet confirmed, according to the Latin Patriarchate ofJerusalem.

The joy of pilgrims Sheltering from the rain under a doorway, Batrice Batrice, a Catholic from Nazareth, said he had brought his three teenage children, his wife and his aunt to take part in the procession this year, knowing that it would not be as joyous as other years, because he thought it was important to maintain hopeand a positiveattitude.

“It was happier when there were many pilgrims here. Ten years ago these roads were full of people,” he said.

“We always have to keep hope alive and believe that the situation will be better. There is always someone up there watching out for us.”

Amid bursts of rain, the pilgrims were led by the Christian scouts troop, who again this year did not play their marching band instruments but sang hymns and clapped their hands. The pilgrims waving palm fronds wound their way down from Bethphage a Franciscan church located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem down to the Monastery of the Ascension and downhill to Gethsemane garden, concluding at the Church of St. Anne by the Lion’s Gate in the Old City.

Members of various Neocatechumenal Way communities played guitar and sang as they marched in the procession adding a bit of festivity to the event, a group of Franciscan friars played music and sang, and members of the Filipino Catholic community sang songs.

“We are still rejoicing,” said Violeta Pasco, a Filipino caretaker who works in Tel Aviv and came to Jerusalem with her husband and 15-year-old daughter.

“Even when it is difficult we need to rejoice. No one will stop us from rejoicing. It is our faith.”

The day began with the palm procession and Pontifical Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa blessed the palm fronds, and a procession walked around the edicule during the Pontifical Mass. The Holy Edicule is raised over the place of Christ’s tomb.

Greek Orthodox and Copt faithful also filled the church as they celebrated Palm Sunday.

Cardinal Pizzaballa: ‘We are not afraid’

In his Palm Sunday procession message, Cardinal Pizzaballa urged the faithful to remember “what matters most” despite the continuing

difficulties: “We are here today, local Christians and pilgrims, all together, to say strongly that we are not afraid. We are the children of light and resurrection, of life. We hope and believe in the love that overcomeseverything.”

“We have encountered Him. And we are here to cry it out, strongly, confidently, and with all the love we can, which no one can ever extinguish. No one will separate us from our love for Jesus. And we want to witness it first of all with unity among ourselves, loving and supporting one another, forgiving one another,” he said. “As I keep repeating, we belong to this city and no one can separate us from our love for the Holy City, just as no one can separateus from the loveof Christ.”

“I think it is just important to always keep hope no matter what the situation is. On these special holy times, we need to focus ever more so on hope,” said Janice Stepp from Florida, who admitted that she and her family felt a bit of trepidation before she came. Once in the Holy Land, however, she had calmed down and had been amazed by the unique opportunities for prayer and contemplation.

“What we see in the news is very much exaggerated. I feel it is safe to visit here, and we have been everywhere. We got as much time as we wanted in the Church of the Nativity by the star where Jesus was born. It was an amazing opportunity,” she told OSV News. Stepp said her group also made purchases from Christian shop owners in Bethlehem to help support the local Christian community.

“According to the Bible, Jesus came to Jerusalem during this period to free the people and get closer to God,” said

Ramze Shaheen, a resident of the Old City. “Today, 2000 years later, we are not asking for peace. Just quiet. There won’t be peace now after all that has happened, but we hope and pray for quiet so we can live together and educate our children.”

Holy Week amid Palestinian suffering Meanwhile, the Diocese of Jerusalem of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East issued a statement condemning the early April 14 morning bombing of their Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, run by the Anglican Church in Jerusalem, which was the last fully functioning hospital in Gaza City.

They said the twin strikes had demolished the two-story genetic laboratory and damaged the pharmacy and emergency department building as well as the church building ofSt. Philip.

They said the IDF had issued a warning to evacuate the building only 20 minutes before the airstrike. It is the fifth time the hospital has been bombed since the start of the war. The IDF, which maintains that Hamas uses hospitals and schools as a shield for their operatives and weapons, said they had struck Hamas targets in the attack.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has told the BBC that Gaza has become “hell on earth” as Israel’s military assault there continues.

Mirjana Spoljaric’s comments come on the same day the U.N. human rights office warned that Israel’s tactics were threatening the viability of Palestinians continuing to live in Gaza at all, the BBC said.

The U.N. also said 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers in the Gaza Strip were killed by Israeli forces “one by one” March 23 and buried in a mass grave in southern Gaza. The IDF has confirmed that troops from Golani, one of the army’s five infantry brigades, opened fire on two convoys of ambulances in Rafah. The bodies have since been retrieved by a U.N. team.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in Israeli bombardment since it renewed the war on March 18, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said.

In an interview with the Italian Tg2000 news program, Cardinal Pizzaballa called the situation in Gaza “dramatic, catastrophic, shameful,” one where the dignity of the 2.3 million people living thereisnotbeingtakenintoconsideration

“We cannot think that they are all complicit with terrorism or crime,” he said. “We must be open to all perspectives, keeping our attention high, but also that of all the churches around the world, of everyone willing to listen to us, on the seriousness of what is happening.”

He said he had spoken briefly to Father Gabriel Romanelli, the priest at Holy Family Parish in Gaza, who said the Catholic families sheltering in the church are determined to remain until the end of the war.

“Then, only God knows what may happen, so we must also be very realistic,” the patriarch said in the interview. ❖

A Christian Perspective on Social Issues

By GHK Lall

Good Friday and Easter (Part 1)

When all seems to have come apart in the worst way imaginable, things come together again. But with a difference. At the highest level: a heavenly one. Palm Sunday laid the table. The Holy Triduum transcended into realms not seen before. From Good Friday to Easter Sunday, the glory of God is revealed. A sacrifice of a unique kind. A rising for the ages. Now before the name Jesus, the Risen Christ, every knee is bent, hearts uplifted.

Who could have seen a vision of what was in store for Jesus? What kind of king is this, one who stands as mankind’s hope, one going up against the forces of darkness, on a lowly donkey? Jesus of Nazareth did. That was the Jesus who was on the first Holy Week. This is the Jesus Christ that is, now arrayed in the glory of Messiah, king, and high priest. Look at how Holy Week proved all those prophesies of old, gave them an incomparable glow.

In his sternest hour of trial, when Jesus looked around, there was no one around him. All who had sworn to be about the courage and grace of strength in being right there by his side, were nowhere to be found. Disappeared and scattered during his ordeal of brimstone and torture, of scourging and insulting. Into the fire of trial, Jesus went alone. It is the loneliest of lonely roads, the one of those who are quietly, but doggedly, about self-sacrifice. Almighty God willed it, committed to it, and that promise had to be fulfilled. When Jesus delivered, he assumed the mantle of savior, redeemer, and liberator. A liberator from the deadly clutches of sin, a deliverer from the ravages that sin wreaks on man, woman, and child.

To return to the grace of God, only a sacrifice would rebalance the scales of justness, reintroduce what is right. It had to be a pure and perfect one. Since man couldn’t,

then Jesus was the answer. All along he was the only one that could bring me and you back to God. And we do need returning to God, the sanctuary that he offers from a bitter, poisoned, unforgiving and self-destructive world. When man doesn’t forgive, God does. What appears utterly remote, totally out of the picture, God provides. Jesus came and left a bar that can’t be scaled; can’t even be equaled. Not come close to, until the essence of his love, the righteousness of his ways, has taken control of us.

The original Good Friday was of so many horrors. The betrayal that came before, and so close that it had to hurt. A world of hurt was unleashed, but it was what was programmed into the salvific mission of Jesus. In the midst of the darkness of what is now hailed as Good Friday, there was the light of Jesus glowing from that Cross. Among criminals of a mean streak. Murders. Men of violence, and there is the stricken prince of peace stuck between them to pile yet another layer of scorn upon him. In the manner of the world, then and now, one received the grace of belief, the other didn’t.

From the bitter poignancy of Good Friday, and death on a Cross, there is the emptiness of that tomb on the morn of Easter Sunday. Mary crying

her anguish, her loss to the angels, “They have taken away my Lord. And to the disciples, Lord.”

one moment in time, in the grand canvas of God. Christ is Risen. From the ashes of death and dismissal, Jesus soars in flight, in the visions of our faith. and from that faith comes the hope that drives us to rise past every circumstance. Just like Jesus did. Jesus trusted everything to the Father, my spirit.

God never does.

From the end of the earthly Jesus, to the birth of hope in the heavenly Christ. God is good, beyond compare. We have Easter and all that is embedded in it, all that this grace season is about. Believers are in communion with the Creator, reconciled to him, watched over by him. Hope is rekindled, and like an ember it grows from a flicker to a burning flame. Faith cannot be extinguished. Hope knows no limit. The season of Easter infuses that in us, should inspire us to see the Risen Christ for all that he is, and all that he expects of us. He gave every ounce of love that he possessed for us. So also, must each one of us, believers and hopers, be prepared to give to others. When we give to others, we glorify the Son and the Father. A blessed Easter Season to all.❖

Gracious and loving God, we thank your for the gift of our priests. Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments.

Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.

Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel.

Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest. Amen

FIRST READING Acts 10:34. 37-43

Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: “You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now I, and those with me, can witness to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’

RESPONSORIALPSALM: Psalm 117

Response: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

1. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

Let the sons of Israel say: ‘His love has no end.’ Response

2. The Lord’s right hand has triumphed; his right hand raised me up. I shall not die, I shall live and recount his deeds. Response

3. The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone. This is the work of the Lord, a marvel in our eyes. Response

He is risen! He is truly risen! This is what the celebration of Easter is all about the truth that Jesus was crucified for our sins and three days later rose from the dead, conquering death once and for all.

and Christ, the undefiled, hath sinners to his Father reconciled.

Death with life contended: combat strangely ended!

Life’s own Champion, slain, yet lives to reign.

Tell us, Mary; say what thou didst see upon the way.

The tomb the Living did enclose; I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!

The angels there attesting; shroud with grave-clothes resting.

Christ, my hope, has risen; he goes before you into Galilee.

That Christ is truly risen from the dead we know.

Victorious king, thy mercy show!

Gospel Acclamation 1 Cor 5:7-8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed; let us celebrate the feast then, in the Lord. Alleluia!

GOSPEL

SECONDREADING

Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.

SEQUENCE

Christians, to the Paschal Victim offer sacrifice and praise.

The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;

We know it’s true, but this Easter Sunday, let’s ask ourselves if we live as if it’s true. Do we live as witnesses to the gloriousrealityoftheResurrection?

A witness, of course, is one with firsthand knowledge. Our readings today focus not only on the Resurrection itself, but also on those who were witnesses to it.

In the Gospel, St. John describes the very first witnesses to the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene, John (“the disciple whom Jesus loved”), and Peter. Each had an individual

John 20:1-9

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’

So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.❖

“experience” of the empty tomb. Each went up close to see for themselves what Jesus’ love had accomplished. How can we as Christian stewards all these years later see for ourselves and so become His witnesses? We “see for ourselves” when we prayerfully read the Scriptures knowing they are a living love letter from God with a message to each one of us. We “see for ourselves” each time we receive the precious Body and Blood of our Lord in the Eucharist. We “see for ourselves” when we experience His

personal and healing power in our hearts during Reconciliation. We “see for ourselves” when we pour out our lives in loving service to those around us and experience the deep satisfaction that only comes when we are imitating our Saviour. This Easter, resolve to live as if the saving power of the Resurrection is true. Experience Jesus for yourself every day from now on. You will be a powerful witness to the truth that He is risen! He is truly risen! ❖

[www.catholicsteward.com/blog/ ]

Gospel Reflection

In a court of law the testimony of an eyewitness carries a lot of weight. The person who actually witnesses an event has first hand knowledge and is not reporting what others have said. Eyewitness accounts are important to us all even though we find that many people place too much importance on rumours and gossip. Today’s Gospel story is all about eyewitnesses to what is without doubt the most important event to the Christian religion. They saw the empty tomb and slowly everything that Jesus stood for and taught began to fall into place. We have not personally seen the empty tomb yet we believe in what it means. We have the eyewitness account as recorded in the Bible. And our whole life as Christians is linked to that defining moment. We must always remember that it was not the death of Jesus that changed the world but his resurrection.

Many of us like to see before we believe. This is why so many people flock to see faith healers at work, especially on television. People want to see with their own eyes so that they may believe or that their belief may be strengthened. However, we can’t see Jesus the way the apostles saw him nor can we, like Thomas, stick our finger into his wounds. Today, we have to live by faith and not by sight. We do not see the wind or electricity yet we are sure these are real because we can feel them and see what they can do. We cannot see Jesus but we can feel his presence and see what he can do. So, while we read of the historical Jesus in the Gospels, we have to look for him, the risen Christ, in our midst today. In fact, it is our duty and responsibility to make his presence in the world a reality and not just confine him to words in a book or to the building we call church.❖

[From: Journeying with the Word of God, The Religious Education Department, Diocese ofGeorgetown, Guyana ]

Caribbean Episcopal Conferences hold Regional Meeting

The 3rd Regional Meeting of Roman Catholic Episcopal Conferences of the Caribbean, coordinated by CELAM - the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council - took place from March 17 -21, 2025 in the Dominican Republic.

The meeting, held in Santo Domingo, welcomed 31 participants, coming from the episcopal conferences the Antilles (AEC), the Dominican Republic (D.R.), Cuba, and Puerto Rico. The Haitian episcopal conference could not attend due to difficulties in leaving, caused by the extreme violence denounced by Monsignor Max Leroys Mésidor, Archbishop of Port-au-Prince and President of the Episcopal Conference.

The AEC delegation consisted of Christianna Paul and Msgr. William John Lewis from the Diocese of Roseau (Dominica), Taresa Best-Downes from the Archdiocese of Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago), and Fr. Donald Chambers, General Secretary of the AEC.

Missionary impulse, diverse realities, and synodality

The meeting, which is part of a broader process of ecclesial discernment in Latin America and the Caribbean, had the firm purpose of reflecting on the main pastoral and social challenges facing the Caribbean. It also sought to strengthen the Church's commitment to synodality, social justice, and care for our common home.

particular circumstances in our Caribbean region," ensures "cohesion, pastoral animation, and accompaniment of the realities" that each Episcopal Conference "faces on its journey of evangelization."

The Bishop of Bani, D.R., called on society to understand the issue of migration not as a problem but as a natural process, emphasizing that "Christ was an immigrant along with

denouncing sin and its consequences, such as corruption and impunity. The Church must promote values such as honesty and solidarity, and demand a system of consequences for those who break the law," he maintained. He also warned about the urgent need to create opportunities for young people as a way to prevent crime. In this regard, he spoke about the importance of creating educational and social reintegration programs Online Catholic

On Palm Sunday, recovering pope says Journeying with the Word of God

VATICAN CITY (CNS) Carrying the cross means more than bearing personal suffering it means stepping into the pain of others and walking beside them, Pope Francis wrote at the start of Holy Week.

“To carry the cross of Christ is never in vain,” he wrote in his homily for Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square April 13. “It is the most tangible way for us to share in his redemptive love.”

The pope, still recovering from respiratory infections, made only a brief appearance in the square at the end of Mass, but his homily was read by Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, subdean of the College of Cardinals, who celebrated the Mass.

“Have a good Palm Sunday. Have a good Holy Week,” the pope said with a strained voice from the stage in St. Peter’s Square. He was not using a nasal cannula to receive oxygen during his public appearance unlike the week before when he had come to the square at the end of Mass to a deliver a blessing.

The Vatican also released a video of the pope in St. Peter’s Basilica after the Mass; he stopped to pray before the tombs of Sts. Peter, Pius X and his successor, Pope Benedict XV.

Despite a two-month convalescence prescribed by his doctors following his release from the hospital March 23, Pope Francis had made several surprise public appearances in the previous week.

He delivered a blessing in St. Peter’s Square at the end of the Mass for the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers April 6, prayed before the newly restored

tomb of Pope Urban VIII in St. Peter’s Basilica April 10 while dressed in casual attire and went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome to pray April 12.

As of April 13, the Vatican had not confirmed which Holy Week liturgies the pope may attend.

The Palm Sunday Mass began with throngs of laypeople processing into St. Peter’s Square holding palm branches, followed by more than 60 cardinals and bishops.

More than 20,000 people, many holding olive branches a Palm Sunday tradition in Italy listened as the Passion narrative from St. Luke’s Gospel was proclaimed.

In his written homily, Pope Francis reflected on Simon of Cyrene, the man forced by Roman soldiers to carry the cross behind Jesus.

Simon, the pope said, did not speak but simply acted, and in doing so became part of salvation history. “Between him and Jesus, there is no dialogue; not a single word is spoken. Between him and Jesus, there is only the wood of the cross.

”

Pope Francis invited Christians to reflect on how they respond to the suffering of others with “anger or pity, compassion or annoyance” and to recognize Christ in the people whose lives are burdened by pain and injustice.

“How many Simons of Cyrene are there in our own day, bearing the cross of Christ on their shoulders!” he wrote. “Can we recognize them? Can we see the Lord in their faces, marred by the burden of warand deprivation?”

MAKING THE WORD OF GOD YOUR OWN

Step 1: Lookattoday’sReadingsprayerfully.

1stReading: The apostles are witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus who brings forgiveness to all those who believe in him.

Recognizing those faces, the pope said, must move believers to action.

“Jesus’ passion becomes compassion whenever we hold out our hand to those who feel they cannot go on, when we lift up those who have fallen, when we embrace those who are discouraged,” he said.

At the start of Holy Week, Pope Francis called on Christians to prepare for Easter by becoming companions to one another on the road of suffering and mercy.

“In order to experience this great miracle of mercy, let us decide how we are meant to carry our own cross during this Holy Week: if not on our shoulders, in our hearts,” the pope wrote. “And not only our cross, but also the cross of those who suffer all around us.”

“Let us prepare for the Lord’s paschal mystery,” he said, “by becoming each of us, for one another, a Simon of Cyrene.”

In his message for the recitation of the Angelus, published by the Vatican, the pope thanked people for their prayers during his illness and asked them to join him in praying for those suffering from war, poverty and natural disasters. He made a particular appeal for peace in Sudan, where April 15 marks two years since the outbreak of civil war, and remembered the victims of a building collapse in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

“May peace finally come to martyred Ukraine, to Palestine, Israel, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and South Sudan,” he wrote. “Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, obtain this grace for us and help us to live Holy Week with faith.”❖

2ndReading: Through our baptism we participate in the life of the risen Christ and so we should set our priorities and values accordingly.

Gospel: The empty tomb and the burial clothes are signs of the resurrection of Jesus. This opens all kinds of possibilities for those who believe.

Step 2: ApplyingthevaluesoftheReadings toyourdailylife.

1.The Church has always welcomed new members at Easter, Why do you think the Easter season is a great opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a baptised member of the Body of Christ, the Church?

2.Easter is a more important celebration on the Christian calendar than is Christmas. Why is this so?

3.We all experience moments of dying in our lives when the world closes in on us and it is as if we have one foot in the grave already. What are those moments of death that we all experience?

4.We also experience resurrection moments when hope returns to our lives. What are some of the resurrection moments we experience?

Step 3: Accepting the message of God’s Wordinyourlifeoffaith.

The friends of Jesus saw and heard him a few times after that first Easter day and their lives were completely changed by the experience. When we share in their faith our lives will be changed too. We can live in hope because we know that good will overcome evil and that life will triumph over death because Jesus rose and conquered death.

Step 4: Somethingtothink&prayabout

1.What meaning does the resurrection of Jesus have for you? What are some of the resurrection moments you have experienced in your life? Why should we consider being accepted and forgiven by someone a resurrection moment?

2.Pray for those baptised this Easter, that they all may remember to live as people who belong to Jesus and that they will work to bring hope to people around them.❖

[From: Journeying with the Word of God, The Religious Education Department, Diocese of Georgetown, Guyana ]

France to see a record 17,800 catechumens baptized at Easter

10,384 adults and more than 7,400 young people ages 11 to 17, according to an annual survey by the National Service for Catechumens of the French bishops’ conference.

Adult baptisms have skyrocketed, observing a 45% increase compared to the number in 2024.

Announced April 10, these figures are the highest since the creation of the survey that has recorded them each year since 2002.

It’s not a passing trend, but a real “dynamic,” said Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon, who is responsible for the catechumenate in France.

‘Sign From Heaven’

“Beyond the figures, which are already significant in themselves, it is a question of interpreting this sign from Heaven,” Archbishop de Germay wrote about the surge in a commentary published with the survey.

Within the last decade, the number of adults baptized at Easter has risen from 3,900 in 2015 to 7,135 in 2024, and then to 10,384 in 2025. For Cécile Eon, national delegate for adult catechumenate, this increase is “impressive.”

“Requests are pouring in, and the teams must be reorganized,” she said at a press conference April 10 in Paris.

“The proportion of catechumens aged 18 to 25 has increased particularly since 2020. They are now the most numerous among adults.”

The 18- to 25-year-old group, made up of students and young professionals now represents 42% of catechumens, and has surpassed the 26- to 40-yearold group, which until now represented the historical target group of adult catechumens, the French bishops’ conference said.

Pastoral Care

Catherine Lemoine is the national delegate for the pastoral care of young peopleages 11 to 17.

“Baptism preparation groups, which usually had five to seven young people, now sometimes have 20, 50 or even many more,” she testified at the presser. “These young people often ask themselves existential questions. Some are going through difficult situations, such as their parents’ divorce, illness or the loss of their grandparents. This makes them wonder about the existence of God, and they find some answers in the Gospel, which leads them to knock on the door of the church.”

For Catherine Chevalier, national head of the Proclamation of the Faith and Accompaniment of the Christian Life conference, the reasons for this sharp increase are difficult to determine with precision.

“The somewhat anxiety-provoking societal context, with COVID-19 (pandemic) and the wars, is no doubt related,” she pointed out. “Many are looking for reasons to hope within all this instability. But beyond these factors, all the catechumens demonstrate a very personal approach and a spiritual journey, which for some datesback to their childhood.”

Catholic influencers and social networks certainly play a role among 15- to 25-year-olds, according to Chevalier, but she believes it is not decisive. “Those young people clearly do not want to stay in the virtual world,” she explained at the Paris press conference.

‘Thirst for God’ “They express their thirst for God and their desire for interiority, but also their desire to belong to a community, to find rites that are consistent with what they experience inwardly, and a sense of brotherhood.”

At the Cathedral of St. Louis in Versailles, very close to the palace built by King Louis XIV, Hubert Boüan is responsible for catechumens, both young and adult.

“There were four baptisms at Easter last year,” he told OSV News. “There are eight this year, and there will be a dozen next year. And the requests keep coming! Every week, one or two new young people, aged between 20 and 30, come to the parish,” he said.

“In 80% of cases, they come from broken families, with parents who had abandoned the faith,” Boüan pointed out. “But many mention their grandmother and say they remember her going to Mass.”

Reconnecting to Faith

According to figures from the French bishops’ survey, 52% of adults baptized this year come from families that were once Christian. “They want to reconnect with the faith that was once practiced in their family, and seek to explore the issues surrounding it,” Boüan confirmed.

“During the preparatory meetings, they open their hearts to this subject. It is very moving,” he said.

In addition to the catechumens, there are also those who were baptized just after birth but did not receive a Catholic education afterward. “They too arearriving in increasing numbers,” Boüan confirmed. “Sometimes, we

have to do research to find traces of their baptism. They prepare to receive the sacrament of confirmation at Pentecost.”

In France, 9,000 adults were confirmed in 2024, more than double the number in 2022.

More Ceremonies Needed

“In Versailles, the bishop has decided to plan another ceremony in November, in addition to the one at Pentecost, because there are too many of them for just one ceremony,” Boüan said.

To help the newly arriving to integrate in the Catholic Church, the bishops are relying on existing pastoral projects. Every two years, the dioceses in the Paris region invite young people ages 15 to 18 to the FRAT gathering at the Marian shrine in Lourdes just before Easter. FRAT is a ministry that is over 100 years old and comes from the French equivalent of “brotherhood” “fraternité.”

Increasingly popular in recent times, FRAT takes place April 12-17 in 2025. So far, 13,500 young people have registered, compared to only 9,000 in 2024. Catechumens are especially invited, and discover an atmosphere that is both festiveand prayerful.

“Young Catholics today are very

comfortable with their Christian faith and talking to their friends about it, much more so than the generation before them,” Lemoine, national delegate for the pastoral care of young people, explained. Young adults ages 18 to 35 are especially invited to come to the Youth Jubilee in Rome from July 28 to Aug. 2. The bishops of France are considering placing them at the center of the pilgrimages they organize on this occasion.

Preparation Teams

For Chevalier, head of theproclamation of faith office, the “great challenge” in the coming years is to train a sufficient number of supervisors to oversee the preparation of all those who come and ask for baptism. In 2025, there’s 31% more coordinators than in the previous year. The vast majority of them are very committed laypeople. But more are needed in all the dioceses of France; calls are being made to those who can come and strengthen the teams.

Archbishop de Germay said that “we see that ‘baptized old Christians,’ discovering unsuspected areas of the faith, are challenged and renewed by the testimony of newcomers, who are gradually introduced to the different dimensions of Christian life. Everyone comes out enriched.”❖

school for employees’ children

Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, former president of the office governing Vatican City State, and Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Raffaella Petrini, current president of the office, inaugurate a nursery school for children of Vatican employees at the Vatican April 14, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) The Vatican inaugurated a nursery school for children of Vatican employees April14.

The Sts. Francis and Clare school can accommodate up to 30 children between the ages of 3 months and 3 years old and is open Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Located inside the walls of Vatican City State not far from a workers’ cafeteria and several Vatican offices, the new school has one Italian- and one Englishspeaking teacher per class, given the international make-up of the Vatican’s workforce.

While the school was officially opened to children April 1, the formal inaugu-

ration and blessing were held April 14, officiated by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, former president of the office governing Vatican City State, and Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Raffaella Petrini, current president of the office. Pope Francis enthusiastically supported establishing a nursery school to help parents, especially mothers, who return to work after parental leave, Azzurra Lacirignola, representing the governing office, told Vatican News. Employees with families had often requested such a service, she added. Now parents have the opportunity to have their infants “within walking distance of the workplace,” she said. ❖

Dear Girls and Boys,

Easter is a very special and wonderful time in the Church and for all of us. Do you know why? On Easter Sunday we celebrate Jesus rising form the dead (His Resurrection). Jesus overcame death. He is no longer dead. Jesus is alive. Alleluia!

Easter is the high point of Holy Week - the holiest week of the year for Christians. Easter is a time of great joy as Jesus brings new life to the world. To celebrate this occasion, the church is beautifully decorated in white and gold with lots of flowers (lilies), a sign of the risen Lord. There is also a large decorated candle. It stands for Jesus, and is called the Easter Candle or the Paschal Candle. Jesus is the Light of the World.

Here in Guyana we fly kites at Easter because the kites are a symbol of the risen Lord.

Have a happy, holy and safe Easter, and may God bless all of you. Alleluia! ❖

Veil of Veronica a sign of hope for modern times, Vatican official says

donations for special Mass intentions

Exposition of the Holy Face in St. Peter’s Basilica on April 6.

(CathNews) - A Vatican official says the ancient tradition of devotion to Veronica’s Veil and to the Holy Face of Jesus is a sign of hope and an invitation to return to the essentials in a world constantly connected and on the move. Source: Crux

“Ultimately, Veronica’s gesture is a gesture of hope. Why? It makes us understand that man wants to support the other, that women want to support the other. This is hope,” said Franciscan Fer Enzo Fortunato, spokesman for St Peter’s Basilica, a position created by Pope Francis earlier this year, and editorial director of St Peter’s Square magazine.

While the Gospels don’t explicitly refer to the Veil of Veronica – an ancient Christian devotion to what is believed to be the divine imprint of Jesus’s face onto the veil of a widow named Veronica who used it to wipe his face while carrying the cross to Mount Golgotha, where he was crucified – Fr Fortunato said it

is “a beautiful devotion.”

Veneration of the veil “brings us back to the heart, beyond the veracity of the relic,” to the gesture itself, he said.

The Veil of Veronica is an ancient devotion in the Catholic Church, and while there are several alleged versions of the veil, the one conserved in St Peter’s Basilica has been present since the 7th century, more than 1300 years.

It is placed in a silver reliquary and stored inside one of the columns surrounding the main altar in St Peter’s Basilica, above a statue of Veronica holding a veil, and displayed once a year on the fifth Sunday of Lent, the last Sunday before Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week.

This year the veil was displayed on Sunday April 6 during a liturgy in St Peter’s Square, which was followed by Mass presided over by Italian Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica.❖

VATICAN CITY (CNS) Catholic faithful do not “buy” Masses, but when a priest accepts an offering and promises to celebrate a Mass for that person’s loved one or other special intention he must do so, the Vatican said.

“The centuries-old custom and discipline of the church insist that each individual offering be matched by the priest’s application of a separate Mass celebrated by him,” the Dicastery for Clergy said in a decree published April 13.

However, it said, in situations where there are many requests or few priests, a “collective” Mass may be celebrated if and only if the people making the offerings are informed and explicitly agree, the decree said.

Nevertheless, it added, a priest is allowed to keep only one of the offerings, which are usually referred to as “stipends.”

The diocesan bishop or provincial superior of a religious order is to establish where the rest of the money should go, the decree said, although it suggested that the funds be given to a poorer parish in the diocese or sent to the missions.

The decree, based on norms in the Code of Canon Law and updating elements of a similar 1991 decree, was approved by Pope Francis April 13 and will go into effect April 20.

Church norms governing offerings made for Masses, the decree said, are designed “to

ensure justice namely the keeping of the word given to those making the offering and on the other hand, to avoid the danger, or even the appearance, of ‘trading’ in sacred things.”

In a general audience talk in 2018 about the Mass and, specifically, about the Eucharistic prayer, Pope Francis reminded people that every Mass is celebrated for everyone.

“No one and nothing is forgotten,” he said. “And if I have someone relatives, friends, who are in need or who have passed from this world to the other I can name them in this moment, inwardly and in silence,” or ask for a special Mass to be celebrated for that person.

The pope continued by imagining someone asking, “Father, how much do I have to pay?” The response, he said, is “‘Nothing.’ Do you understand this? Nothing! You do not pay for Mass. Mass is Christ’s sacrifice, which is free. Redemption is free. If you want to make an offering, do so, but you do not pay.”

Making a donation, the new decree said, is a way for the faithful to offer something of themselves and to contribute to the support of their priests. But it always is voluntary, always can be free and while there can be a “customary” amount often $10 in most Italian and U.S. dioceses it is up to the faithful and not the priest to determine the amount.

The new decree also asks bishops and priests to educate their people to recognize the need to support the church in mission territories and to acknowledge the universal nature of the church by fostering “the praiseworthy custom of transferring to mission countries excess Mass intentions with the corresponding offerings.”❖

Churches East and West celebrate Easter the

same day in 2025; could it be a step to unity?

(OSV News) Does Easter belong to Jesus Christ, or to a calendar?

For Pope Francis, the answer is clear: “Easter belongs to Christ!” the pontiff declared in September 2024, when he met with representatives of the Pasqua Together 2025 Initiative, an assemblage of various lay associations and movements of several Christian confessions.

They were gathered to discuss a coincidence and a concern that, for all involved, represents an occasion of unity the pope said “must not be allowed to pass by in vain.”

Because this year, churches both East and West will celebrate Easter, the Day of Resurrection, on the same date: Sunday, April 20, 2025.

It’s notable because Western churches Catholics of the Latin Church and most Protestants follow the Gregorian calendar. So do most Eastern Catholic churches. The Eastern Orthodox churches along with some Eastern Catholic churches use the older or revised Julian calendar.

That divergence currently results in a 13-day disparity between the Gregorian and Julian calendars and the calculations for Easter based on those divergent calendars typically lead to the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on different dates.

“It’s a complex problem, one that is bound up in so many different elements,” said Father Alexander Rentel, an archpriest of the Orthodox Church in America and assistant professor of

Canon Law at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York.

“I would be hard pressed to highlight one or another issue,” he added. “The lack of dialogue, mistrust, centuries of practice, but also estrangement. Further, religious and especially liturgical practice, once set, is hard to change.”

WhydifferentEasterdates?

The Catholic Church’s rubrics used to determine the date of Easter were established at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 marking a 1,700-year anniversary in 2025 which decreed Easter as occurring on the same day throughout the Christian world. The calendar then in use was the Julian Calendar, which as its name implies was established by Julius Caesar, in 45 B.C.

The Great Schism in 1054 broke communion between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church but the major calendar shift took place in 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian Calendar. Intended to correct an error in the Julian Calendar, it’s widely in use around the world today but not by the Eastern Orthodox Church, which remains on the Julian.

Establishing a common date for Easter acomplex issue

Nonetheless, given the 2025 Easter convergence, there’s been talk of unity.

“This common date has given a lot of energy to older discussions about establishing a common date for the celebration of Easter,” said Father Stefanos Alexopoulos, a Greek Orthodox priest and director of The Catholic University of America’s Institute for the Study of Eastern Christianity.

“This hope and wish have been expressed both by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis,” Father Alexopoulos noted. As archbishop of Constantinople and 270th successor of St. Andrew the Apostle, the ecumenical patriarch is seen as the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church. “The will from both leaders is without question there and is honest; the implementation is difficult.”

Father Alexopoulos said he sees three possibilities:

“The one option is that the Roman Catholic Church align its date of Easter with that of the Orthodox Church,” he suggested. “While this would solve many inter-Orthodox problems, it would mean that the Roman Catholic Church would follow a calendar for Easter that is astronomically not accurate. In addition, many secular calendars of Western countries would have to be revised, as their schedule of holidays are tied to the Western date of Easter.

“The second option is that the Orthodox Church aligns its date of Easter with that of the Roman Catholic Church,” explained Father Alexopou-

los. “This is a non-starter as many Orthodox churches would refuse to do so, and would create further division among the Orthodox.

“The third option,” he remarked, “is that both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches seek an alternative common way of calculating the date of Easter, independent of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. Such a decision would be very difficult to accept, as it would do away with a decision of an ecumenical council.”

“A common witness of Christ’s resurrection to the whole world”

Aristotle Papanikolaou, co-founding director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University in New York City, also forecast a doubtful outlook.

“I’m very happy that the pope is speaking in that way, and taking the initiative,” he said. “And of course, the ecumenical patriarch has also made one or two comments recently regarding that. I think in ecumenical relations, public statements are made in such a way as to try to at least identify something where churches can move towards some kind of agreement.” “But,” Papanikolaou said, “I’m going to be a little bit pessimistic, I’m sorry to say.”

His pessimism, he shared, is rooted in the complexities of historical identity. “It’s a procedural issue, but yet it remains a self-identification issue. And there are just some Orthodox who feel that on these issues that divide us not every single issue that divides us the Catholics and the Protestants have to capitulate,” Papanikolaou said. “So on the institutional level in the Orthodox Church, I’m afraid that most institutional players not necessarily all, but most would not move forward with this because of the kind of reaction they would get from their Orthodox constituents.”

Father Rentel echoed that prediction.

“I don’t anticipate much to change past this year. I am skeptical, in other words, that anything will change,” he said. “People will talk, argue, try and agree, but little more will happen.”

But, he added, there is always room for grace and so, the unexpected.

“Ultimately, God can inspire us and move us in ways according to the purpose of fulfilling his will,” the archpriest reflected. “In other words, even though these problems seem insurmountable, they can be overcome by God’s grace.”

Father Alexopoulos agreed.

“May this year’s common date,” he petitioned, “be the beginning of a common witness of Christ’s resurrection to the whole world.” ❖

holy devotion shape the hearts of your faithful, O Lord, to welcome worthily the Paschal Mystery and proclaim the praises of your salvation. The prayers we offered during Lent repeatedly reminded us and pointed us to our goal; the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, Paschal festivities, and to proclaim the praises of salvation. The invitation was not just to go through motions and be present at the key liturgies during Holy Week. These prayers, the readings, the recalling and re-enacting special moments of our Lord’s life and ministry were such to nurture a Christian ethos in all of us as individuals and collectively as a faith community. At our Palm Sunday celebration we set out to walk with Jesus who brought a presence of peace and promise into a chaotic and threatening world. This is what he did and wants us to do the same. We read the Passion giving the account of how Jesus died but more importantly the Passion account tells us how Jesus lived - with resolve, with compassion, with constancy and with profound love for the world. That is who we are called to be and called to help each other to become; “more like Christ” (from the rite of Baptism).

On Holy Thursday we read the account of the washing of feet from

the Gospel of St. John and included that action in the liturgy. The teaching here is emphatic, it is about service, Jesus saying to his disciple, and saying to us, do this for each other. I frequently go back to those words we say so often in the prayer for vocations “send your Spirit to guide and strengthen me that I may serve your people following the example of your Son Jesus Christ…” To play a bit on the words of St. Benedict “the life of the disciple ought to be a continuous Easter”, not just living with a flavor of Easter, giving a little context or background to who we are and how we share our lives with others. Easter, clearly articulated in our faith tradition, is a way of being, forming the foundation of our identity and shaping our witness and expression of life.

My Easter wish to all, in a spirit of Synodality and Jubilee, is that we continue to grow in and live the Easter mystery, proclaiming the praises of salvation and helping each other to do the same. ❖

20th Annual Bible Quiz Finals held

The 20th Annual Bible Quiz Finals took place on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at Bishop’s House, Brickdam. A total of 24 communities from 6 regions across the Diocese participated in this year’s event, resulting in the highest participation of young people to date.

The participating churches were:

SacredHeart (Main Street), Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Brickdam), St. Jerome (Supply), HolySpirit (North Ruimveldt), St.John the Baptist (Plaisance), St. Joseph Husband of Mary (Diamond), St. Robert Bellarmine (Aishalton, South Rupununi), St. Joachim (Springlands),

Our Lady of Fatima (North Road), St. Francis Borgia (Potarinau, Central Rupununi), Presentation of the Lord (Hiawai, Central Rupununi), St. Theresa (Karasabai, South Pakaraimas), Our Lady of Lourdes (Hosororo), Christ the King (Suddie), Divine Mercy (Essequibo),St. Joseph’s Mission (Kurukubaru), St. Francis Xavier, (Waipa), St.Ignatius (Lethem), St. Lawrence (Nappi), St. Paul (Sand Creek), St. Bernard (Sand Creek), Church of the Ascension (New Amsterdam), and Our Lady Queen of Peace (Lethem).

In his closing remarks, Bishop Francis Alleyne, OSB, congratulated all the participants. He shared that they had gained valuable knowledge and experience of the Gospel through their participation.

Certificates were presented to all the participants, and tokens and trophies will be awarded at a later date.

A special token of appreciation was given to the Thompson twins for their tireless contribution to the Bible Quiz over the past 20 years. Justin and Fr. Joel Thompson, SJ took part in the very first Quiz 20 years ago. Since then, their involvement has continued

to grow. We give thanks for their service and pray for God's guidance over them.

Special thanks are extended to His Lordship Bishop Francis Alleyne, Fr. Joel Rathna, the Bible Quiz Team, Fr. Joel Thompson, SJ, Graziella Abraham, Joshua Van-Sluytman, Angie Sukhai, Justin Thompson, Sasha Hanoman, Indra Chacon, Abigail Benjamin, Jael Laud, Sydney Stewart, Mother Sanguinis, the catechists and parents. Without your support, the 20th Annual Bible Quiz could not have been a success. ❖

(Catholic Media Guyana)