Dear Parishioners,
Alleluia! He is risen! And since He is risen, so must our spirits as well. Sin and death, evil and suffering no longer have the last word. Jesus Christ, the Word of God, now has the last word. That word is an invitation to a better life, a risen life, a happy life with the Lord. The Easter dinners, bonnets, dresses, and egg hunts are wonderful ways to celebrate the day. Of course, it goes without saying that the Mass is the most appropriate and indispensable way to celebrate the day and give thanks to God for Jesus.
After the day is over, Easter is not over. It’s too great a feast to be finished in a day, and so we extend the feast for 50 days until Pentecost. And then the Easter season ends. Yet—maybe not. Since Jesus rose on Easter Sunday, every Sunday is a “Little Easter.”
With Lent long past and Easter fading from memory, there is the temptation to return to our past way of life. And while I am not suggesting we return to all the disciplines of Lent, it would be good to retain one or two. Perhaps Friday, the family could gather to pray the rosary, or once a month or every other month, you could go to confession, or perhaps 5 minutes a day with the Bible, or a weekly 5-minute visit to the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel. As St. Paul reminded us last week, our journey in life is a long race and our attention should be on the finish line and the prize, “life on high with Christ Jesus.”
Fr. Carl
