INSIDE THIS ISSUE

That Tomb ....................................... 2

Holiness Begins at Home ................. 3

The Vase .......................................... 4

First Saturday Breakfast .................. 5

Why Ladies Retreat ......................... 5

Liturgy Brief……………………………….6,7

Fr. Vin’s Easter Message .................. 8

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

Meet faces of young Altar Serv-ers………. Pages 2 & 3

Home blessings Picture: The Dela Cruz baby is overwhelmed with joy………….. Page 3

Happy Faces of Ladies at the 2017 Ladies Retreat… Page 5

Happy Easter

The Family Apostolate Newsletter Easter 2017

I n my seminary days, Easter was the greatest feast we looked forward to. It was

exhilarating to celebrate the great resurrection of Christ, and as seminarians, to

go home for the Easter break. Sometimes, we wished there were no Good Friday

before Easter. Ordinarily, seminarians hated waking up early, but not on Easter

Sunday because we would rush home as quickly as possible. So, Easter was al-

ways great fun.

Thinking about the Easter joy and the sense of freedom that it brings, the echo of

Alleluia, after the forty days of penance, surely makes a whole lot of differences.

For us then as seminarians, the entire movement from the seminary gate to our

parents’ homes was like the Exodus experience in the bible, a pass-over. Indeed we

are free. “Happy Easter! Christ is risen!”, we shouted; and we were gone from the

seminary. Our thoughts then - Christ’s resurrection has set us free.

There is a great connection between the physical sense of freedom and the

spiritual. Easter marks that entrance into new life, a joy and a resolve to absorb

God’s love.

In this Easter edition of the Family Apostolate Newsletter, we will talk about the

joy which Easter brings to the family. So, how can we be part of the Easter joy? -

forgiveness, compassion and love in the home!, doing little things that can make us

saints, holiness lies in the little things we do right at home. What matters is not the

broken vase, but the broken heart. Relationships are meant to be cherished.

And you know what, you will hear the voices of our little altar servers.

Read on!

THAT TOMB COULD BE YOUR HEART,

YOUR MARRIAGE, YOUR HOME.

T he words of the angel to Mary

Magdalene and Mary, mother

of James, “He is not

here” (Matt.28:6), was the

great announcement of the

resurrection. “Here”, refers to

the grave, the tomb. The tomb

is a symbol of darkness, of

sadness, of pains, of grief, that

Jesus came to eliminate. The

prophet Isaiah announced

thus, “On this mountain, he

has destroyed the veil which

used to veil all peoples, the pall

enveloping all nations; he has

destroyed death forev-

er” (Is.25:7). And the Apostle

echoes, “Death is swallowed up

in victory” (1Cor.15:54).

Christ’s death was the fulfill-

ment of his divine mission; the

mission of salvation, to free

humanity from darkness. His

resurrection eliminates the

dark forces of hatred, wicked-

ness and sin. If the angel says,

“He is not here”, then where is

he? “He is risen”. About the

resurrection, “What is sown is

perishable, but what is raised is

imperishable; what is sown is

contemptible but what is raised

is glorious; what is sown is

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weak, but what is raised is

powerful; what is sown is a

natural body, and what is

raised is a spiritual

body” (1Cor.15:43-44). Christ

rose from the dead. He

destroyed the tomb of

darkness. He ascended into the

loving unity of the Father and

the Holy Spirit. He invites us to

rise with him, and to identify

the negative spots in our hearts

and homes where he cannot be

found.

“He is not here”, sends a

powerful Easter message to

families, friends and the entire

humanity. Christ is not found in

the home marked by envy and

jealousy. Christ is not in the

home of wickedness and

hatred. Christ is not in the

home of lies and conspiracy.

Christ is not in the home of

betrayal and anger. Christ is

not in the home of hopeless-

ness and fear. Christ is not in

the home of failure and lazi-

ness. Christ is not in the home

of despair. Christ is not in the

home of disrespect and

fighting. Christ is not in the

home of murder and treachery.

Christ is not in the home of

drugs and alcohol addiction.

Christ is not in the home of cov-

etousness and greed. He is not

there. He does not dwell in

darkness. He is risen to the

home and the heart of love,

peace and compassion. He is

risen to the place of light and

forgiveness. He has risen to the

home of joy and humility. He

has risen to the place of serenity

and faithfulness. He has risen to

the home of commitment.

Can you clean up the dirt and

darkness to accommodate the

risen Christ? That tomb could be

your heart, your marriage, your

workplace. Once it is dark and

closed to forgiveness, it be-

comes the tomb. Christ is not

there. He is risen.

SERVING GOD

RUTHANN PEHL (8 YEARS OLD) 4TH GRADE

Ruthann has served for more

than six times at the 7am mass at

Holy Trinity. She said waking up

to attend mass at 7am is great.

“Being an altar server, especially

on Sundays makes me work

harder”, Ruthann says, “since I

have to wake up early and get

dressed for the 7am mass”. At

her age, Ruthann says she has

learned that the Church has rich

traditions through the altar

server’s training. She said her

great challenge is getting down

the altar server’s robe from the

closet because of her size and

height. Ruthann is excited to

serve on Easter Sunday. “It is

special and amazing serving at

mass for the Resurrection of

Christ just like serving at

Christmas”, she says.

“Christ’s death was the fulfilment of his divine mission; the mission of salvation, to free humanity from darkness.”

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Blessing the Dela-Cruz Family: baby is amazed

HOLINESS BEGINS AT HOME

SERVING GOD

SOPHIE GREEN 10 YEARS OLD (5th GRADE) Serving for more than two

months, Sophie says she feels

good being close to the priest at

mass. Sophie feels special learn-

ing about Holy Week and the

Triduum, namely, Holy Thurs-

day, Good Friday and Holy

Saturday. She said that being an

altar server has taught her some

things she wouldn’t know ordi-

narily such as the priest’s vest-

ments and the sacred vessels

used at mass.

THOMAS PEHL 10 YEARS OLD (5th GRADE) Thomas provided the initial attrac-

tion for her little sister, Ruthann to

be an altar server. He is identified

as the 7am mass-guy at the Holy

Trinity Church where he has

served more than twenty times.

Describing his special moment,

Thomas said serving Christ on the

altar is special and spreads out to

all the things that he does on the

altar. He finds especially interest-

ing the privilege of getting things

from the credence table to the altar

in preparation for the consecra-

tion. Speaking about serving on

Easter Sunday, Thomas says, “I

wonder what the church is going to

look like on Easter”.

W e are all called to holiness. St. Teresa of Calcutta reminds us that holiness, “Is

a simple duty for me and for you." To be holy is to be friends with God. The closer

we are to Him, the holier we become. But how do we become holy in today ’s busy,

complicated, technological world? How do families become holy juggling work and

school and multiple extra-curricular activities? It can be overwhelming. Ironically,

the pursuit of holiness seems not only old fashioned but downright impossible. But

God would never ask the impossible of us, and can never be old-fashioned.

Becoming holy isn’t as complicated as some might envision. The closer we grow to

God, the more we realize how loving and simple He truly is. We don’t have to join a

monastery or travel to distant lands to feed starving children to become holy. Our

means to holiness is found exactly where we are: in the job we hold or the school

we attend or the diapers we help change. It’s doing small things with great love,

as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux would remind us.

Susan Conroy is a gifted writer, speaker and host of the EWTN series, “Speaking of

Saints.” Conroy draws wisdom from her years working with Mother Teresa of

Calcutta. In her series, she gives a great piece of advice that was passed down

from her own grandmother. “You’re no greater than you are in the four walls of

your own home”, her grandmother used to say. Wow, now that’s a terrific gage for

taking stock of our actions - the four walls of our own home. At times we have

plenty of patience and kind words for co-workers or neighbors or even strangers.

But how do we treat the people under our own roof? Are we loving and serving at

home when nobody's watching? Are we kind to our spouse? Are we patient with our

children? Are we thoughtful? Forgiving? Do we greet them with a smile? Have we

learned to “bridle our tongue”, as St. James reminds us? Now there’s something to

consider. Holiness begins at home. We love and serve God within our family and it

truly is an excellent measure of character and holiness. How do we treat our family

members and how can we improve? The home is where love begins. The home is

where saints are born. St. John Paul II reminds us, “As the family goes, so goes the

nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” Strive to make your home

another Nazareth where Jesus, Mary and Joseph would feel welcome.

Patti Rubin

4

hurt. Ben tried to express

regrets for breaking the

vase, “I’m really sorry that

I broke your beautiful vase”, he said. “No, it wasn’t

your fault. I should have kept it in a better place. I ’m

sorry”. The situation was resolved.

What matters in life is not what happens to us, but

what we do with the things that happen. Little things

can be great or small. It is interesting to know how

much those little things matter in marriage. Pope

Francis told couples, parents and families gathered in

Philadelphia in 2015, “Like happiness, holiness is

always tied to little gestures. These little gestures are

those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost

amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each

day different.” As couple, it might be good to reflect on

the effect your words have on your spouse. Sometimes,

she comes back in a harsher, unfriendlier tone, perhaps

in louder than yours. Psychologists admit that there is a

distance in the hearts when two angry persons interact;

they shout. They raise their voices due to anger. Adren-

alin runs high at such moments. The opposite is the

case when love rules. Love speaks in amiable whispers.

That’s what happened in the cases of the two couples

dealing with the vase. Andy’s wife was harsh, and he

responded with an even harsher tone. There was dis-

tance in their responses, not physical distance but emo-

tional and spiritual disconnect. The effect is to overlook

what is important. Nancy, in the second case was differ-

ent in her approach. She showed care first, then Ben

responded with love. The attributes of love reside in

action. They are practical. Love demands visible actions

as Saint Paul says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does

not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not

dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily

angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not

delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always pro-

tects, always trusts, always hopes, always

perseveres” (1Cor.13:4-7). Those are words of

exhortation, of support and commitment to the

marriage values and challenges. The vase is a symbol

of little things that could sustain or destroy marriage.

Such things could begin a rift in marriage if couples are

impatient, unkind, envious, boastful, arrogant, dishon-

orable, self-seeking and easily angered. The cumulative

effect of breaking the vase could lead to the bigger

problem of breaking the marriage. From vase to com-

munication, to sour and hateful feelings. On the other

hand, a calm, loving and caring attitude makes the vase

insignificant to the worth of your spouse. What is bro-

ken is the heart not necessarily the vase.

Easter reminds us of those wonderful values.

THE BROKEN VASE HOW LITTLE THINGS MAKE OR MAR

MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS

I t could be something as little as washing dishes,

changing diapers, controlling the remote, dropping a

note, making coffee, etc. They can make a world of

difference between couples. A lady once told me that

her husband hadn’t held her hand for all of their twenty

-five years of marriage and that bothered her. It illus-

trates the point. The little things in marriage matter.

Let’s look at two couples and their reactions to the

flower vase.

Couple A: Mr. Andy’s wife, Ceil, bought a flower vase

which she kept on the table by the window. Mr. Andy

was busy reading his evening newspaper while Ceil was

making dinner. As the house phone rang, Mr. Andy

rushed to pick it up accidentally hit the flower vase. It

fell off and broke into pieces. Ceil rushed from the

kitchen to see what had happened. She found her hus-

band picking up the broken vase. Her first response

was, “Do you know how much I paid for the flower vase

that you just broke?” Andy was hurt at his wife’s

remark. He had suffered a minor injury from the broken

glass and his hand was bleeding. He lashed back with

the words, “You’re cruel to say that. You don’t even

care that I’ve been injured. A pity you place more

importance on a common flower vase than on me. To

hell with you and your vase”. He storms away.

Couple B: After work,

Ben picked his wife

Nancy up from her

work, and they rode

home together. On

their way, however,

they stopped to pick

up a flower vase.

Ben and Nancy

were in the kitchen

getting ready for din-

ner when the house

phone rang. Nancy

had kept the vase

on the table

close to the

house

phone. As

Ben grabbed

the phone,

his hand hit

the vase. It

crashed and

broke. Nancy

felt badly

about the ac-

cident. She

rushed to her

husband to find

out if he was

4

5

BREAKFAST FELLOWSHIP:

WHERE LOVE AND CHARITY PREVAIL

“...with one heart,

they regularly went to the Temple but met in

their houses for the breaking of bread;

they shared their food gladly and generous-

ly; they praised God and were looked up

to by everyone” (Acts 2:46). Through the

First Saturday break-

fast fellowship, the Family Apostolate

inspires cohesion among parishioners who regularly attend the Saturday morning mass. Here,

parishioners share the joys of the Eucharist and unite for breakfast afterwards. So far, bonding and friendship have increased. In the past, parishioners rushed

to mass and rarely greeted each other after Mass. The breakfast fellowship has changed the practice. Spiritual support and solidarity come from familiarity nour-

ished by gathering beyond the church atmosphere. Sharing meals promotes love

and encourages community living. That is what the Family Apostolate does through First Saturday Breakfast Fellowship. The love keeps growing

Ladies pray at the retreat

Ladies share their joy

Holy Friendship

THE FAMILY APOSTOALTE WOMEN’S RETREAT—APRIL 1, 2017

WHY ATTEND A LADIES RETREAT?

G et away from family worries: The Family Apostolate recognizes the

enormity of challenges facing women in the home. Sometimes, the question

becomes, how can I leave my kids to attend the ladies retreat? Obviously, women

worry about their husbands, kids, grand-kids, in-laws; about work, health, finance,

friendship, religion; about sickness, addiction, failure, barrenness, etc. Women

worry virtually about everything in the family by their nature as a wife, mom,

grand-mom, mother-in-law, etc. Retreat is a time to walk away from worries.

Get to the Lord: To walk away from implies walking into the embrace of

the Lord. Like the woman of Samaria, Jesus has a soothing balm to our problems

(cf. Matt.11:28). Ladies retreat is a moment of encounter with Jesus.

Seek authentic resources: Oftentimes, we overlook spiritual solutions.

Retreat is an opportunity to tap into the greatest solution to family problems. The

few minutes/hours with Jesus in a retreat can be life-changing because God alone

has the best solution to family issues.

Spiritual healing: One recurring testimony that ladies give after each

retreat is the efficacy of God’s healing received. Ironically, many of us are wounded

in different ways. Healings come from the talks, the reconciliation (Penance), the

Eucharist, the silence, the laying on of hands, and from the friendships formed by

meeting other ladies.

God speaks through his word to ladies: Through various talks and

teachings, God speaks to the hearts of ladies during retreat.

Holy Friendships: Many women form a network of holy friendships through

retreats. They meet older women with greater marriage experiences. They meet

younger women who bring reminiscence to their ageing moments. Such friendships

help women to open themselves to the love and support of God.

Rest: Retreat is a period of rest. Ladies retreat provides calm to the soul.

It enables ladies to connect with themselves and with God. It provides rest away

from home.

Moments of Fellowship

6

L iturgy B riefs

P Altar Servers Retreat Nancy Drew

utting together the 2017 Altar Server’s Training

Retreat was a humbling experience for me. One

great lesson was that the young children, teenag-

ers and adults who serve as altar servers want to

know how to perform their duties properly so they

can add to the liturgy and not take away from it.

Again, we need to take time to commission those

in ministry to acknowledge their role and to re-

fresh their commitment to these ministries. And

finally, I encountered firsthand that the parish of

Christ the King is filled with people who work tire-

lessly to bring our community together to cele-

brate the Eucharist and to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives. The altar servers’ excite-

ment at receiving their commissioning certificates spoke volumes.

I think about different roles played by wonderful people in putting together the Altar

Server’s Training Retreat. A task that seemed hard was made simple by God through

the roles played by each person. When we serve together, we feel God’s grace.

While doing this, every person that I came into contact with repeated the same …thank

you for doing this, we’ve needed this for so long.

A

Pastor Speaks!

Happy Easter! Our path is simple - just think what would Jesus do if he were here now, in this situation - and then do it! That in-volves dying to self and em-bracing the better way. I hope you noticed the pro-noun “we.” We are all on this journey together. Let’s be encouragers of one an-other and draw the angels out of one another.

~Fr. Lou

Service—Where the Spirit Leads MaryRose Mueller

fter serving as a Eucharistic Minister and lector at Holy Trinity for several years a need

arose for a scheduler to schedule EMs and lectors for all the masses. I began by as-

sembling a list of all of our liturgical ministers and then began making a schedule every

three months. All of the lectors and EMs were generous with their time and willing-

ness to serve. However, as I communicated with them, it seemed that we were each

doing our role in a silo, uncertain of how our service fit in the big picture of parish life,

uncertain if we made a difference. We were lacking a sense of community with each

other. We were also in need of additional volunteers.

As the Holy Spirit was beginning to turn my mind to these needs, Fr. Vin invited me to

join the liturgy committee. The committee thought that a retreat would serve to

recognize and acknowledge the contributions of all of our liturgical ministers, build

community and recruit new members. We planned for 30 people although 85 showed

up.

Feedback from the retreat revealed a desire for more catechesis on the Mass,

scripture and church teachings and for instruction specific to each ministry. Based on

that feedback, we developed the Lector and EM enrichment sessions which were

conducted in March. We are already planning for the 2018 Liturgical Ministry Retreat.

The Holy Spirit continues to make His presence known among us as we seek to serve

our parish and each other. Serving God is an awesome experience.

7

I AM JUST CLAY IN THE HANDS OF GOD

-DEACON GERMAN

Nancy Drew

Mary Rose Mueller

Dcn. German Flores

I helped with the Lector's Retreat. One thing that it reminded me

during the preparation and presentation was my own experience as a

lector when I was a teenager. I remember how I used to be terrified any

time I was involved with any public presentation. After talking with one

particular priest in Venezuela, he taught me how to be humble enough

and just be a servant of God, to allow Him to do His will. I admire any

service to God and the grace to be part of His will. I thank the Catholic

Church for her guidance. I’m grateful for your ministry at Christ the King

parish, Glen Burnie. I am just clay in the hands of the Creator.

The opportunity that my humble service allows me is unique and the Re-

treat brought me back to my childhood.

Faces at the 2017 Enrichment Programs for Liturgical Ministers

The Family Apostolate

Fr. Vincent Arisukwu

126 Dorsey Road

Glen Burnie, MD 21061

fathervinarisukwu@familypriest.com

Phone: 410-766-5070 ext. 217

Visit us online:

Website: www.familypriest.com

Facebook: Family Apostolate at CCGB

Or

Patti Rubin — Family Apostolate Administrator

pattirubin@familypriest.com

Phone: 410-978-8341

Where Faith and Family Meet

What can Easter do for us in these trying times of violence, ha-

tred, pains and sufferings imposed on humanity by numerous

forces? Do families still expect good news from the Church?

These were similar to the questions and concerns of the apostles

at the time of the death of Jesus. For them, it seemed like the

journey would end with Good Friday. But Easter is real.

The words of Pope Francis speak to us here, “Easter is a sign in

the midst of so many calamities, a sense of looking beyond, of

saying don’t look to a wall, there is a horizon, there is a life, there

is joy.” We reemphasize in this newsletter an absolute power in

Christ’s resurrection; Christ has truly risen.

The Family Apostolate wishes all families the joy and gladness of

the risen Lord. We bring you the Light of Christ to illumine the

dark spots of your marriages, and every other relationships.

Easter glory fills the sky. Alleluia. Let us rejoice!

Fr. Vincent Arisukwu

Friday, April 28th

Catholic Family Ministry Fellowship: come and enjoy a Potluck style dinner, with

Games, Magic Show, Bible Story, Prizes and Fun activities and much more at the Holy

Trinity Hall, 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Contact: YourFamilyMinistry@ gmail.com.