The Easter Message is that all are welcome; all are forgiven; and all are loved by the Risen Lord.

 

EASTER 2022

There is the story of the man whose dad came home from the II World War.  His dad worked in a factory with a very menial job.  He had to pay his own way through college.  Frankly he didn’t think too highly of his dad because he didn’t seem to amount too much.

The young man got himself a job in an international conglomerate and seemed to be moving up the ladder of success.

His dad died and at his dad’s wake in walk the CEO of this international conglomerate.  The man was as pleased as could be and went to the CEO to thank him for coming to the wake.  The CEO than asked:  are you a relative of the deceased Frank?  The man quickly said that he was Frank’s son.  The CEO responded:  “So, you’re the son.”  Then he went on to say that your dad saved his during the II World War and pulled him out of harm’s way.  They had kept in touch, exchanged Christmas cards, and the man had repeatedly told Frank that if there anything I can do for you, please let his know.  After some years, Frank finally did ask for a favor. He asked if he could get his son a job in his international conglomerate.

Immediately the son was filled with shame in not appreciating his dad and what he had done for him.

On this Easter Day, may we be thankful for all that our family has done for us.  May we witness to an Easter attitude of gratitude.

Today is the day of Easter joy.   We proclaim the centerpiece of our Catholic Christian faith:  Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead.  Alleluia! Alleluia!  Today we celebrate the reason why we are a people of hope and new life.  Today we cast off fear and make a leap of faith.  Liturgically we light the Easter candle because we believe in the light that comes from the Risen Lord.  This Easter candle needs to be lit in the deep recesses of our hearts.

More than ever on this beautiful Easter day, we need to trust and embrace the grace Jesus offers.  The Risen Jesus calls us by name and offers us the grace to walk away from the empty tombs of the fears and the demons of our lives so that we live with Easter joy and an Easter peace.  This indeed is our journey to an Easter faith.

 

On this Easter day the Risen Lord wishes to identify with us and to enter into the experience of the people he loves.  Today God is sending this Easter message to us that the Risen Lord showers upon us the joy and peace that accompanies us as an Easter people.

May we embrace our Easter faith in which we look at life from a transformed perspective.  May we not be focused solely on the challenges we face in these  days; may we be enlivened by the love and the joy of the Risen Lord.  We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.

This virus has not dimmed one iota God’s love for each and everyone one of us.  The Lord’s Easter message is that all are welcome; all are forgiven; and all are loved by the Risen Lord.

Now on the first Easter day, the first disciples did not exactly experience the Resurrection event with the magnificence of Easter music and Easter flowers and a wonderful sense of celebration.  The first disciples did not immediately proclaim:  We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.

For the first disciples, their Easter faith was much more gradual.  The first disciples encountered the empty tomb before experiencing the Risen Lord.  The Easter Gospel speaks of the empty tomb experiences of Mary Magdalene and the apostles Peter and John.  They only gradually came to an Easter faith.

An important truth of our lives is that we discover important things about our lives at the empty tomb.  Our dealing with this pandemic for many of us is an empty tomb experience as we have been confined to our homes and we haven’t been able to gather as we would like.

Just as the first disciples experienced the empty tomb before they came to a resurrection faith, we need to encounter the empty tombs of our own lives.

As with the first disciples, our empty tomb experiences are the moments of darkness and confusion in life.  As we peer into the empty tombs of the ups and downs of everyday life, we are challenged to see and believe as the apostle John did as he stared into the empty tomb.

 

 

 

May our Easter faith in the presence of the Risen Christ within our hearts fill us with an Easter joy.   Allow yourself to be loved by the God who goes with us in this pandemic crisis.  Yes, we are looking for a vaccine to protect us from this virus, but be assured that with the eyes of faith the vaccine we most need is found in our solidarity with the Risen Lord and in our solidarity with each other as a community of faith.

We are an Easter people.  This means that are not buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits, dangerous addictions or this pandemic crisis.  Our Resurrection faith gives us the Good News that no tomb can hold us down anymore -- not the tomb of despair, discouragement or doubt, not that of death.  Instead, the joy of the Risen Lord fills our spirit.

May we listen as the Risen Lord calls us by name and welcomes us into the joy of sharing in His Risen life. 

Whenever and wherever we trust and hope in the light that comes from the risen Lord, our spiritual darkness fades away.   May you too be very much in touch with how the spirit of the Risen Lord lives in your family and in our parish family.

We cannot celebrate Easter in one day; we will not come to faith in one Mass.  AS God’s Easter people, we make the journey together over the course of a life time.  Whenever and wherever we trust and hope in the light that comes from the risen Lord, our spiritual darkness fades away.  As surely as the dark of night gives way to the dawn of day, the Lord’s gift of Easter joy awaits you.

Have a blessed day.  Today is our day of Easter joy.