April 14, 2024

Dear Parish Family:

As we continue in this Easter Season, here is a little story I came across. It’s called Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day. It might sound trite but it is a wonderful little story written by Carol Benoist and Cathy Gilmore. Published by Ligouri Press, it’s a sweet story for the young and young at heart. A beautifully illustrated version of the book is available at many places online. I hope you like it as much as I do. Look for an illustrated copy in our Parish Library next week!

Love and prayers,

Father Neil Sullivan

Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day

Hi! I’m the Easter Bunny. But I wasn’t always the Easter Bunny. Can I tell you my story? Long ago, when I was just a little bunny, I lived with my mama, papa, brothers and sisters… lots of brothers and sisters. We lived in a really beautiful garden and we had plenty of yummy grass to eat. I had young animal friends to play with too. My best friend was a mouse. He was really good at hide and go seek. I was just really good at… hiding. You see, I had a problem. I was afraid… of nearly everything, nearly all the time. I was afraid of the dark. I was afraid of thunder. Lightning. Shadows! CROWDS!! And especially HORSES!!! One time, I had to dart out from under a horse’s pounding hoof when a group of riders came galloping through the garden. I was so scared… I shivered and I could hardly eat for a week. The only thing scarier than horses was the dark and gloomy cave at the corner of the garden. I could never go in it. One time, everything I was afraid of happened on the same day. It started with riders on horses yelling at a crowd of people going past the garden. Later on it grew Dark… in the middle of the day! Then there was a tremendous Storm with thunder and lightning. Even the ground shook under me. I didn’t know where to go. I had to hide somewhere, so I ran… right into the cave! I cowered in the corner for a long… long time. Later the storm ended, and a group of people came into the cave holding torches. They brought a man wrapped in white cloths and laid him on a flat piece of rock. Then they all went out. Before I could move, they rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the cave, and I was stuck inside… in the dark! I was in there for three days with the man wrapped in white cloth. There was something about him. At least I wasn’t alone. Then, the most amazing thing happen. The cave filled with a light so bright I could barely see. The man got up. The light was coming from him. He glowed. There was a sound of air swooshing into the cave like the room was taking a deep breath of the freshest air in the whole world. As the air whooshed back out, the stone rolled away and the cave was open again. Light streamed in and out. I inched forward a little bit. The man saw me. I wanted to run. He stooped down and held out his hand and smiled at me. When I saw his eyes, I didn’t want to run away anymore. With my front paws, I stepped up onto his warm fingers and sniffed. His touch made me feel warm inside. He scooped me up, held me close to his heart, and took me outside. He stroked my fur with gentle hand and said, “Don’t be afraid, Little Bunny. I am with you.” Hearing his voice… I knew I’d never be afraid again. The special day when the man who glowed came out of the dark is called Easter. They call me the Easter Bunny because that was the amazing day He took all my fears away.

From Our Pastor

April 14, 2024