Saint Gertrude Parish
Easter 2025

Dear parishioners,
This year's Lent is celebrated during the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025. For
this period, Pope Francis, in his proclamation through the Vatican publication
Bull Spes non confundit invites each one of us to become pilgrims of Hope.
Fulfilling the mission of a pilgrim, we seek the grace of a plenary indulgence,
which is to aid in our Lenten practices and in a better spiritual experience of Easter. How do we become a pilgrim of hope and obtain the grace of indulgence? The most common practice of obtaining an indulgence is to visit one of the Jubilee churches in the form of a pilgrimage or individually, spending time there in Eucharistic Adoration and Meditation, ending with the prayer of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith and a prayer to the Mother of God.

The Pope emphasizes that it is also possible to obtain the Jubilee indulgence in many other ways, noting that the realization of Corporal or Spiritual Works of Mercy is certainly a good entry into the spirit of Jubilee. One of them is to visit and dedicate time to our brothers and sisters in need or in a difficult situation (the sick, prisoners, lonely, the elderly, the disabled), as it were, making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them and fulfilling the spiritual, sacramental and prayerful conditions. The Jubilee indulgence can also be achieved through actions that express in a concrete and gratuitous way the spirit of penance, which is the soul of the Jubilee, rediscovering in particular the penitential value of Friday: abstinence in the spirit of penance from trivial distractions (real and virtual) and from unnecessary consumption (e.g. the practice of fasting) at least for one day. These are just some suggestions regarding our experience of Lent in the Jubilee Year. May these practices help us to grow in grace and to live with Hope the greatest mystery of Christianity – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who supported last year's Catholic Appeal 2024, for which we were able to raise $26,019.00. Thank you very much on behalf of the Diocese. I also want to thank those who supported the Christmas collection 2024 or made declarations for Catholic Appeal 2025. May God reward you for your generosity. In addition, I am also asking you to support this year's Easter Collection, especially since the gas alone cost us $3,900.00 in December and $5,200.00 in January of this year.

Easter is a feast of Hope. Life arises from the Grave. After the Cross there is Resurrection. I hope that all of you will be permeated with the hope that the Jubilee brings, and in particular this time of Easter. Please read the plan of the Holy Week liturgy at the end of the letter. I wish you and your loved ones an Easter filled with Hope

Fr. Krzysztof Pankanin, Parish Administrator and Staff