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Pastor’s Letter: April 5, 2026 – Easter

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

Blessed Easter! Christ is risen, Alleluia! He is risen indeed, Alleluia! What a wonderful gift to celebrate together that Christ has conquered sin and death and that the gates of Heaven are thrown open for the faithful! Some of you might remember that last year I reviewed through how we understand the three days that Jesus was in the tomb…I recently had two people ask me if we could review that again. Since it has been a full week, I thought I would rework that bulletin column to answer those folks…and hopefully provide a good review for everyone else. As I have shared before, we celebrate on Easter that Jesus has kept His promises, fulfilled His mission, and opened the door for our reconciliation to God. We also recall that Jesus has fulfilled the many prophecies of old…as well as many that He gave us Himself.

One of those prophesies is specifically about the reference to “three” days in the tomb—most of us would likely say that sounds familiar. We certainly do hear it often in the Gospels—did you know that Jesus said something (or a reference is made to what Jesus said) about being in the tomb three days at least 11 times in the Gospels! If you are interested in a mediation on these prophecies, check out any of the following: Matthew 16:21, 17:23, 23:19, 27:63; Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34; and Luke 9:22, 18:33, 24:7, 24:46. For now, here is one:  “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (Mt 16:21).

From these passages, it is clear that Jesus saw this coming…and that He fulfilled it perfectly…Amen! Alleluia! However, for some, a practical question might remain…all those Scripture passages say Jesus will be in the tomb..