To begin with, it was in mid-December 2023 that I settled in El Paso for the first time. So, since then, almost every single experience has been a learning experience. Because I am from a different background. Therefore, I am doing my best to adjust to the new culture as quickly as possible.
However, from what has been said above, the celebration of Easter this year, 2024, in El Paso reached my initial expectations. I could not ask for something better. It was a very satisfying experience. I was the main celebrant of the celebration of the Lord’s supper on the Holy Thursday. To my eyes, it was a colorful experience. Despite the configuration of our parish, St. Francis Xavier, people are not around the parish, only roads, and the church was almost full of people. So I have realized that, all over the world, Easter is always celebrated by catholic Christians with pomp. That was also the case in Guardian Angel, where I was concelebrant for the Eater Vigil.
All in all, I can affirm with certainty that the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the central event of Christians’ faith. However, the reality in the U.S. is that many people want to build a society without God, but there are still a handful of Christians who live their faith in God on a daily basis.
May the risen Lord fill your heart with love, compassion, and mercy. Happy Easter.
Fr. Francois Tshiamala Katalayi, A.A.
