April 26, 2026

Fourth Sunday of Easter

For Leo, our Pope, and __, our Bishop. May our shepherd leaders voice consolation and solace amid the conflicts that divide us. May leaders instill within us the voice of truth and healing justice.

We pray to the Lord.

For our newly baptized. May the Good Shepherd lead us through the gate of faith and freedom. May Christ tenderly hold those reborn in the Holy Spirit. May wonder and awe fill our lives on earth.

We pray to the Lord.

For children who receive Eucharist for the first time. May our young people come to the altar of God with amazement and zeal in their hearts. May God offer them a lifetime of joy in the assembly of the faithful.

We pray to the Lord.

For the end of war and violence. May our leaders silence harmful rhetoric and act with courage for the common good. May people torn by heartache and chaos be given help to restore their daily lives.

We pray to the Lord.

For our youth who question their place in the world. May Easter bring our young people joy and wonder. May Christ guide the next generation into lives that inspire others.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who face thickets of regret and inner shame. May the Good Shepherd save us from the harmful stories we tell of our past. May Easter fill us with courage and joy so we may serve others with dignity.

We pray to the Lord.

For desperate people unable to find solace. For people experiencing layoffs, continuing migraine headaches, daily hunger, and the inability to pay rent on time. May the Shepherd welcome our fragile and lost.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who survive body pain and who remain bedridden. May Christ shepherd the vulnerable and the hurting. May Christ ready us all for green pastures of comfort and tenderness.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who suffer mental illness and anguish. May God ease our minds in this Easter season. May we surrender to the beauty of God’s life and hope within us.

We pray to the Lord.

For our beloved dead. May our loved ones rest in good and green pastures for all eternity.

We pray to the Lord.

Changed Hearts

During a summer break in college, I traveled with parents and high-school students to visit Catholic families in Mexico. The journey expanded my naïve horizons about poverty, simplicity and survival. One day, we traveled into mountain territory on narrow paths as we faced sick kids, gas shortage, and exhaustion. The next day, another chaperon turned to me with revelation and stated, “This journey has changed you.”  

Along with Jesus, the disciples were changed. Jesus’ presence, miracle-making and mercy, expanded the disciples’ imagination, courage and integrity. After Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples shook with fear as they recognized the reality of his new life. Some were foolish, slow to believe, while others proclaimed the unimaginable story of his rising from the dead.

The Risen Christ changes how we perceive our life journey. The Risen Christ reveals to us deeper courage than any scar we carry in our hearts or any wound that we consistently hold.  In Easter, we find our ease and our joy no matter how we stumble or fall, no matter our sin or heartache. Christ shows us the path to life, to deep resources of joy. In the Eucharist, the wounded and redeemed Body of Christ is present for us to taste and is shared with us as balm. Eucharist is our inheritance through baptism.

Jesus’ journey changes us. Our hearts burn with joy when we finally surrender our earthly sufferings to Christ’s love that is revealed among us who face hardship and narrow paths.   

Fr. Ronald Patrick Raab

Fr. Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC, serves as religious superior at Holy Cross House, a medical and retirement facility at Notre Dame, Indiana. He is an award-winning author and visual artist. Learn more at ronaldraab.com.      

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Third Sunday of Easter

April 19, 2026

For Leo, our Pope, and __, our Bishop. May Christ open the eyes of our leaders to serve those who search for meaning and love. May Christ’s compassion become food for the Church.

We pray to the Lord.

For a moral and lasting peace on earth. May Christ show us the path to trust and long-term justice. May hope become food that feeds the souls of every person under heaven.

We pray to the Lord.

For a new awareness of Christ in our lives. May our eyes remain open to the pain of others as we journey in Easter. May we work together to bring harmony to our fragile world.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who receive Easter sacraments. May the newly baptized bring zeal and courage to their relationships and families. May we praise God for the courage to journey in faith, hope and love.

We pray to the Lord.

For healing among our fragile or broken relationships. May Christ mend our hearts and restore the divide among lost friends. May the Eucharist become true food in times of trial and misfortune.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who survive body pain and undiagnosed ailments. May Christ heal the bodies and souls of people lost in complex disease. May we experience the healing love of Christ in our midst.

We pray to the Lord.

For the restoration of hope and wonder in Easter. May we bask in joy as we gaze upon the wonder of the universe.  May Christ be our foothold of courage, integrity and enthusiasm in our earthly lives.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who suffer continuing grief. May Christ heal those who live in fear and loss. May Easter bring hope to the burdened and weary.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who have died.  May Christ welcome our loved ones into the glory of heaven. May Christ’s face shine on them forever.

We pray to the Lord.

PRAYER

Rev. Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C.

O Risen Christ, you shattered the fear of your followers and offered your expression of peace. May we listen with genuine love to your voice when we are afraid. May your resurrection claim our hearts with the peace you whisper. May we peer into your redeemed wounds so we may serve the wounded ones on earth today. May we feed the hungry, comfort the ill, serve the anguished, and offer your concord in every broken relationship. May our hearts proclaim you as Lord and God. Amen.

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April 12, 2026

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

Prayers of the Faithful

For all who lead us in faith. May Leo, our Pope and ___, our Bishop courageously touch the wounds of the Body of Christ on earth. May they model service and consolation.

We pray to the Lord.

For young people throughout the world who have received Easter sacraments. May the Holy Spirit guide the newly baptized into genuine prayer and authentic service in our Church.

We pray to the Lord.

For our newly ordained priests in the Congregation of Holy Cross. May our young priests peer lovingly into the depths of human suffering so to find hope in Christ Jesus. May their prayer and service reveal holiness of life.

We pray the Lord.

For the end of war, violence and hatred in our world. For all who starve for love, integrity and justice. May Easter rouse hope in us to serve people most in need.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who live in fear behind locked doors.  May our prisoners find freedom in faith. May people torn apart by dissension and discouragement find solace in this Easter season.

We pray to the Lord. 

For people who live with mental anguish. May we help ease the burdens of people who face despair and loneliness. May Easter give us new purpose here on earth.

We pray to the Lord.

For all artists, musicians and liturgical ministers. May Easter inspire praise of God and the joy of living. May artists bring vitality and creativity to our communal worship.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who grieve in Easter. May our experience of human frailty be eased by the care of Christ Jesus. May our pain be healed and our lives be made new in Easter.

We pray to the Lord. 

For our beloved dead. May our loved ones find joy in the eternal Kingdom of God. May Christ welcome all who have died with mercy and compassion.

We pray to the Lord.

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Homily at Holy Cross House

Ronald Raab, CSC

Good Friday 2026

On this Good Friday, we reflect on the Cross of Christ, for we believe his suffering and death gives way to eternal life and communion with the Father’s love. Before Jesus died, the gospel records two piercing words from his lips, “I thirst.”

The unsatisfied thirst of Jesus is felt in our bodies, as well, when chemotherapy dries out our mouth, when medications sour our taste, when our aging body longs for refreshment. We even know the thirst that comes from addiction, when more is never enough.

As we imagine Jesus’ thirst, we also know thirst in our hearts and souls.  We grow thirsty for honesty when change in routine does not make sense to us. We thirst for consolation when we are forced to let go of relationships that have fed us in the past. We thirst for hope when we feel orphaned after outliving our family members or when we do not feel heard or seen in our aging process. We thirst for contentment as we reflect on how we have pushed God away carrying our self-sufficiency all the way since high school. We thirst for reconciliation when our human words have alienated our friendships. Our hearts thirst for joy when we second-guess our life decisions when the world seems to pass us by. We thirst at the foot of the cross for a friend who has lost a young child or when a family cannot make ends meet. We grow thirsty for justice, especially when war, violence and bombings are on the lips of leaders.  

These simple words from Jesus show his deepest humanity. Jesus’ genuine thirst reminds us that on the night before he died, he promised his Body and Blood would refresh us for all eternity. Only Christ satisfies the thirst of our soul. Only Christ quenches our thirst for forgiveness, for mercy, for peace and our desire for heaven. Love is born in our longing and thirst for Christ.

In our house, when one of us is coming to our closing days, we gather in prayer at the bedside of our brother. So often there is a blue sponge on a stick to dip into water so to moisten the lips of our brother. A few months ago, when Fr. Molinaro was near death, a group of us gathered to receive his silent teachings to us about how to die. We took turns moistening his lips with a blue sponge. As a former novice master, Fr. Ken was still teaching us to look to Jesus on the cross for our true refreshment until the very end.  

My brothers, until the end of our life, we know the words of our founder, Fr. Moreau, “The Cross of Christ, our only hope.” May we bask in such paradox, wonder and refreshment.  

God give you peace.