Easter Joy!

I have been away for a few days of rest following the Holy Week liturgies and Easter Sunday. Regarding Easter Sunday itself, I want to say how grateful I am that everything went as smoothly as it did, logistically. We have some wonderful liturgical ministers and ushers! Even so, the crowds at all the Masses were very large — as expected — and yet, thank God, the day passed without incident. With the exception of one or two people who needed some air, everyone seemed well enough to pray and truly to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Despite the uncertain weather, the day was filled with Easter joy.

The Vigil was particularly beautiful. We received ten adults into the Church who had been preparing their hearts and minds all year for Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion. The Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, with its Veneration of the Cross, was deeply moving, as were the communal Stations of the Cross prayed outdoors earlier that day. Holy Thursday was special as well: this year we chose to wash the feet of twelve younger men of the parish, some married with children, most still discerning God’s will.

Though the Pastoral Staff would prefer to remain hidden from view, I would be remiss not to draw your attention to the hard work they did all week long behind the scenes. Everything I have just described was only possible because of these people. Most visible were Patti, Joe, and Thérèse, who prepared the church and enabled all of us simply to show up and enter in — they were exceptionally generous with their time and care. Debbie brought that “something special” to the atmosphere of the parish through her gift for hospitality, while John and Mary and their team helped the newly baptized feel they were truly entering into a family. Rose Ann and Daisy kept the daily life of the parish running steadily throughout the week. And Margaret and Anne’s thirty-thousand-foot view held us all to the perspective of a guiding vision that I have worked hard to form and foster.

All of this is to say, as Saint Peter declared on Mount Tabor upon being given a glimpse of the resurrection, “It is good for us to be here.” God allowed Peter a preview of the glory to come — a glory lying hidden in Jesus, just beyond the veil — and through it Peter could call his life good. It is this hope of glory that enables us to transcend the merely animal instinct for survival that so easily dominates ordinary life. There is more to live for, and this is precisely what the Easter Season proclaims.

But who could call this journey good unless the destination is good? And who could call the destination good unless it is revealed to us as such? The resurrection that shook the early Church two thousand years ago is still happening today — in the hearts and minds of those who dare to live differently in this frantic, chaotic culture. What is it that makes the Christian different? It is a willingness to see the world the way Jesus sees us. He sees the sin. He sees the doubt. And yet He calls us good and journeys with us. Most people are simply trying to survive, and it is a miserable existence — though “miserable,” fittingly, shares its root with the word, “mercy.” Will people see that mercy in our eyes? Or will they find in us the same despair that is draining the life from everyone else they know?

As we remember the many men and women of our parish who worked so hard to prepare for us a spiritual encounter with the Risen Christ during these holiest days of the liturgical year, let us ask God for the same grace He gave to Peter: the grace to call our lives good. Isn’t that what it means to be Christian, to receive what Christ came to give us? The hope of glory gives a person so much to look forward to that she comes to love the whole journey of life. And if you feel you have missed it, for whatever reason, ask for the same divine mercy God gave to Thomas, and let this Second Sunday of Easter be for you a second chance. +