Dear Church Family,

I hope all of you are safe and healthy amidst the Coronavirus crisis. I am praying for each and every one of you daily asking our Lord to keep you safe and protect you and your family.

As you know, the Holy Week is next week. While we may be on lockdown, we are not on knockdown. The worst thing that can happen to us is to let this crisis get the better part of us which is our relationship with God. Below is our Holy Week schedule and how we can remain united in prayer. I am hoping that you will be able to join us in these solemn activities:

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This is a very trying time. It appears the devil is working overtime using Covid-19 to get his foot at the door with a sole purpose to destabilize our social, economic and spiritual way of life. It has made it impossible for us to gather together as a family to worship our God. I truly miss having you in church. Because it is important to not allow this test to intrude into our communion with our Father, I recognize it is important to continue to celebrate our normal liturgies each day and each weekend. Therefore, remember to tune in at www.facebook.com/JohnPaulGreatParish and celebrate with us the daily Mass at 8:30AM in English, and 6:00PM in Spanish from Monday to Saturday and Sunday liturgy at 10:00AM in English and 11:30AM in Spanish. In addition, if you are not be able to celebrate with us at these times for various reasons, you can watch the Mass at your own time and become part of the same service.

When we are visited with trials and hardship, the temptation is to give in to fear. God can seem aloof and so distant. As your pastor, I have a message for you: Do not be afraid. We shall weather this storm together. The psalmist urges us not to fear in the face of evil for God is with us (psalm 23).

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Covid-19 may succeed in destabilizing our way of life, take away our health, weaken our economy, but it cannot take away Jesus from us. It can never take salvation that Jesus won on the cross from us. It does not have the power to prevail over the house of God.

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I am the second son and the last born of the seven children born to my parents, Mr. Innocent Ihemedu (91 years old) and Mrs. Cecilia Ihemedu (85 years old). My parents and siblings live in Nigeria.

I have always believed that a life that does not touch another life in a positive way is a wasted life. This value set, of making a humane difference in the lives of others, came from my parents. Early in life, they taught my siblings and me that for many the hope of “being and becoming” a valued community member depends on the ability to respond. For father, imparting knowledge is one crucial way to unlock the doors of opportunities. This is what motivated him to pursue a career in education and teaching and to encourage his children when they chose to follow likewise. Except for mother who worked at home, everyone in my family is a career educator of some sort. It is the same underlying philosophy of touching hearts and changing lives, that moved me to discern a path that joins the human spiritual ministry through a vocation in the Catholic priesthood with a pursuit of further service through counselor education and counseling psychology.

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