“is is the Day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Alleluia” at beautiful statement is the refrain from the responsorial psalm for Easter Sunday. it is a part of psalm 118, a powerful (and lengthy) psalm of anksgiving, and one with which we are more than likely very familiar, with verses such as “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever….By the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes.” e psalm, proclaimed by King David many generations before Jesus came into the world, anticipated that great “Day of the lord” when all things — all creation — all humanity would be made new.

As hard as it is to realize that two months of this new year have come and gone, I am glad to know that we are in the month of March---the month I always associate with my most favorite season of all, spring! In just a few weeks, we will observe the Spring Equinox, ending the long months of winter when all of nature was asleep, ready now to begin the next three months of spring, a time when nature returns to “new life” in all its splendor and freshness. Already we are seeing the signs that springtime is near: it gets light earlier in the morning, and stays light longer into the evening, there’s signs of greenery breaking through the hardened frozen ground, the birds are tweetin their springtime songs and baseball spring training camps are alive and well.

Bishop Bradley's monthly column from February 2018 - Does Lent qualify as one of the reasons why February, for me, is one of my favorite months? It certainly does, because Lent brings us an “early Spring”; and Springtime is (at least for me) the best season of the year.

Bishop Bradley has written his fourth pastoral letter to the people of the diocese, "Moving Forward in Hope: Charting the Course for the Future," offering background on the Diocesan Pastoral Plan and detailing his hopes and vision for the diocese. Copies will be distributed in parishes later this month and an audio version will be coming soon.