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Dear Candidates and Catechumen, Welcome home!! You are making the best decision of your life today. Christ loves you immensely and is overjoyed that you've chosen to follow Him. He is choosing You. You are His! And consequently, you are ours. Tonight you will gain millions of Brothers and Sisters on this earth, and also those in Purgatory and Heaven who have already run this race of life. We are praying for you. We love you! You are so courageous to be taking this next step in your journey of faith. Our Church is not perfect. But Christ is, and we place our trust in Him. Whatever your journey has been, after tonight, you are a different person. This is the beginning of a whole new way of life. You are home. You are where you are supposed to be. Your new life is only beginning! Your joy, excitement, and love for Christ will inspire countless people. Tonight, whether you know it or not, the Holy Spirit radiates from deep within you. Christ is alive, both in our world and within your soul! The Church around the world welcomes and embraces you, dear friend. We love you! Love, Your fellow Catholics

What a wild few days. On the past 48 hours we have witnessed the agony, death, and life-giving love of God. As Catholics we are mystically there, right alongside Christ, participating in His passion. The Institution of the Eucharist? You're right there, spiritually. The Agony in the Garden? Though your parish may only have two pots of flowers by the tabernacle so it doesn't actually FEEL like a garden, you're right there with Him, spiritually. Though it may have been sixty degrees and sunny from 12-3 PM yesterday, and not at all Good-Friday-ish, you were still right there, watching your savior suffer and die in the eyes of your soul. It seems so unfair. Why did He have to die? Why did they do that to Him? By now, most of us have heard and can recognize that it was our sins that did this to our God. But if we recognize that, what can we do about it? Though we cannot go back and undo the sins of the whole world and thus prevent our Lord's sufferings, and we couldn't have stopped Him from allowing Himself to be given as the sacrifice for the world our of love for us, as He was doing the will of His Father, we CAN console Him in His agony. Every time you love someone else, you console Christ. Every time you remain with Him, spiritually, when the world ignores Him, you console Him. Each time you enter into His suffering, you console Him because you are with Him. Each time you trust in His mercy and goodness and love, you console Him. No, we cannot change what has happened. All we can do is thank our dearest Lord for His love! But we can remain beside Him in His agony, and accompany Him on His journey to the cross, and soon, find the tomb empty and discover His Resurrection.

We, too, stand along the road that Jesus traveled on into Jerusalem in the times of consolation in our lives. We, too, wave palm branches in praise of our Lord when we praise Him for all He has done. We, too, place our cloaks on the road, knowing He is too great for even His donkey's hoofs to touch the dirt road when we sacrifice our own comfort in order to praise Him and keep Him company. We, too, unashamedly shout praise to Him when we know we will not be ridiculed. Soon after, We, too, sacrifice Him in the place of our own desires when we place other things above Him. We, too, deny that He is ours and we are His when we are afraid to praise Him because others disapprove. We, too, shout "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" when we knowingly sin. We, too, stand along the road upon which He carries His cross and watch Him die a horrible death for our sake. And yet, He still loves us. He loves us with the greatest love. Even to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). Even after all we've done, He still loves us. He forgives us. He loves and serves perfectly and consistently, even when we ignore His presence. In our fickleness as human beings, He remains steady in His love. Let's remember that as we enter Holy Week.