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The Joy of Easter

How is your Easter going? Are you still celebrating the joy of this season?

Sometime I think we, as a Catholic church, don’t put enough emphasis on the Easter season. The same is true of the Christmas season. We put so much emphasis on the preparation, the repentance, the waiting of the purple seasons. We fill our calendars to the brim with ways to engage Lent, to dive in and dig deep. And then the Day comes – Easter, Christmas – and it’s over and wrapped up like a wedding day. No more programing. No diving in or digging deep together. Just life as usual, as if nothing happened. As if nothing changed. As if we hadn’t changed.

That’s not the way it is supposed to be, right? Lent is not more important than Easter. But the way we engage the two would suggest that it is. We only “do” Lent for the purpose of better “doing” Easter. We practice repentance to allow our hearts and spirits to more fully embrace the fullness of Easter…that is all seven weeks of it. Easter is almost twice as long as Lent. So why do we treat it like it is a single day?

It is the fifth week of the Easter season, but I invite you, challenge you even, to look at how well you are celebrating – or not celebrating – the Resurrection. You have a few more
weeks to go. What is something you can do to reignite the joy of Easter and celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death? What were the practices you took up for Lent? How have you seen a change in yourself through those practices? How can you carry that transformation forward throughout the Easter season and beyond?

He is Not Hear

“He is not here, he has been raised” (Luke 24:6a). Of all the passages in the bible this is one of my two favorites, the other being the exchange between Jesus and the “good thief.” “He is not here” is short, simple, direct . . . and life changing. It is both mysterious and awe inspiring at the same time. These words of Jesus’ absence from the tomb are meant to comfort.

The first proclamation of the Risen Lord is especially consoling to me and I would venture to others who have lost a loved one. For me, she is not here is a recurrent reality that I still grieve over, even though it has been several years. This time of year, coinciding with the brief illness my wife suffered before her death, always brings me to a special place of attention. Some years, clouds and darkness reign and some years, warmth and sunlight permeate my thoughts. This year, as I pondered the paschal mystery, I stopped on, “He is not here.” It is because He is not here that I can live in joy and hope this Easter season.

Jesus conquered death and, in doing this, opened a way for all who grieve, who have etched into their daily lives that he or she is not here, to experience a place of hope and joy. Because “He is not here,” we can live in this world with a sense of destiny. We do not have to worry as to what will happen to us, what is to become of us. Easter is a time when everything both in heaven and on earth cries out with  new life—a new life we have all been granted as children of God.

I don’t know how the season of Lent has been for you but, from wherever you are coming, it is time to put aside anything that keeps you from rejoicing that He is not here. Step out into the bright morning sunlight and feel its warmth. It is a gift from God, that Jesus our savior and our Lord is not here…He has risen.

Awaiting with Joy

Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. You see more amazon trucks than Walgreens stores. One of the many features that people love about Amazon is that you know when your items will arrive and receive a picture to prove that your item was delivered. We live in a world of knowing, planning and calculating.  

Today we mark the beginning of Advent, a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus. Advent means “arrival” or a coming into place.” We mark this holy season with the color of purple, create an advent wreath with candles for the 4 weeks of anticipating and waiting for the birth of Jesus. Everywhere there are decorations, songs, and lights reminding us that Christmas is coming soon. 

As the world emphasizes material goods and festive celebrations, as Christians, we are invited to a time of prayerful anticipation. Christ’s birth is the center of Christmas, not Santa (sorry Santa). The Advent season invites us to step away from what can be a frenzied time to consider how we commemorate the birth of Jesus, one of the holiest times in Christian faith. It is also a time to reflect on the return of Jesus at His second coming.

Unlike Amazon, we don’t know when Jesus is coming, when he will arrive and how close he is to being here.  How are we to see the signs that he is here? “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come…” Mark 13: 33. This passage from today’s scripture puts me on edge. Is my heart ready for his coming? Do I have my life in order that he could come at this moment? Have I fulfilled what he has asked of me? These questions draw me to deeper silence and prayer during Advent Even within this busy ministry time of the year, living the beatitudes and trying to fulfill the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, God is calling me to spend time with him. 

This week I witnessed Jesus in a profound way. One of our parishioners had to bury his wife of 72 years. At one point, he walked down the aisle with his eyes closed ready to bid farewell to the love of his life. I knew in my heart the beautiful Jesus mosaic with arms wide open will embrace his suffering, welcome his beloved home to his heart, and strengthen him during this difficult time. Yes, Advent has begun, but it should never end. We are always waiting, anticipating and longing for the Lord to arrive in our world, and to bring healing in our communities  and families, and in our hearts. The JOY of waiting is part of his coming. Join me in making this advent journey one of JOY in not knowing but embracing that Jesus is amongst us in each other. See you at Mass.  Blessed Advent!