The Easter Season begins, a time to continue the celebration of new life and possibility in our world. We observe Divine Mercy Sunday (7), followed immediately by the relocated Solemnity of the Annunciation (8, shifted due to Holy Week). Good Shepherd Sunday (21) also shares the observance of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

Bearing witness to God's truth, having confidence in God's responsiveness, feeling connected to God's presence—these are gospel messages to contemplate.

It’s always instructive to see what the world does with reformed criminals. Saul of Tarsus, formerly waging a zealot’s war against Christianity, seeks to join the ranks of the enemy in whole-souled conversion to Christ. They won’t have him!

Down the hill from the town of Alberobello, in the farming village of Corregio rests the land my father was born on. Divided among the sons over the centuries, it no longer was large enough to sustain my dad and uncles.

If you’ve ever been given the task of pruning branches on a vine, you know that it is no easy feat. It is often impossible to tell where the vine ends and the branches begin because they are so intertwined and interconnected.

As we continue on our Easter journey, we ask for new life in God and prepare to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s love by acknowledging our failures.

You have to prune so you can grow.

Browse our library for additional Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B material. 

Click here to view the Take Five weekly for April 28, 2024.