From the Pastor


April 20, 2003

The announcement is as new as it is old: “The Lord is risen!” New, because Christ makes all things new. His resurrection from the dead makes Him present in all events. He planned everything for His last days on earth. The forty days he spent after the Resurrection before the Ascension are so much the essence of Christian life, that the Scriptures seem to assume that everyone knew about them, and little is recorded, although we do have references to the crowds and some of what He said. The Church recounts these events in these days of the Easter season.

At the start of the Passion, a woman in Bethany anointed Christ with costly perfume. Judas, who always had his eye on the dollar, said it was a waste. His was the voice of a man who chooses selfish greed over selfless grace. At that moment Christ began subtly to expose his betrayer. He did not condemn Judas outright. He praised the woman, which was worse for Judas. “She has done what she could. She has come to anoint my body for burial. Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of in her memory “(Mk 14:9).” The prophecy is stunning, because we fulfill it every time we read that passage. Unnamed, and usually unnoticed even in her own little village, she has become one of the most famous women in history. More important for us, we enter the prophecy by giving ourselves to Christ. Every little thing we do for His honor and glory, from the very act of getting out of bed in the morning to cleaning the apartment and eating and working, becomes a precious offering to him. The most significant offering of all is worship, which the cynic thinks is the worst waste of time.

This Easter, the parish welcomes all those who are being baptized and received into the Catholic Church. May their graces of conversion do much for the needs of the parish and the whole Church. We welcome visitors and tourists from afar. Day by day, this parish, which is a small corner of the Church Universal, is trying to be faithful to what the Holy Spirit requires of His Church in these crucial days in world history. Your Easter offering, like that of the woman in Bethany, will be pleasing to God. If you live far away, you can stay in touch through the parish website and, above all, by offering intentions for our presence here in the heart of Manhattan.

Fr. George W. Rutler