A Happy and Blessed Easter and upcoming Easter Season to all of you! While this year some might have a hard time accepting these well wishes and hopes given the fact that our lives have been so impacted by the effects of the coronavirus either directly (through sickness and/or even the death of a loved one) or indirectly through our having to "stay in" and NOT come to church for the Triduum liturgies,including Easter Sunday, I hope we can put ourselves in a position to experience inner joy, peace and hope either alone or with family who are with us in person or over the phone. By Easter Sunday, hopefully we have participated in Mass online or on television and made a "Spiritual Communion" at the time we normally would receive the "Bread of Life and the Cup of Eternal Salvation" when physically at Mass. This, I hope will continue until we are able to be together in church for Mass, perhaps during the Easter Season, and appreciate the gift of the Mass "In Person" which we have sorely missed and have taken for granted week after week for almost all of our lives.
While it is probably a good practice by this point to take it one day at a time and not try to look ahead to when this pandemic is over and we can live our lives more freely than we have been, I can't help but reflect upon the Gospel for the Mass of the Ascension of the Lord (May 24) when we will hear the risen Lord, right before he ascends to his throne in heaven say to the apostles "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mth 28:20). I have been comforted, as I know the apostles accepted with faith that Jesus was both leaving them AND remaining with them. He now bi-locates for the benefit of all humanity, especially those who take these and all his words to heart. These times of struggling with "being alone" more or much more than usual for most of us can be a call for us, in faith to be comforted and strengthened by the reality that we are never completely alone as the Lord is ALWAYS with us to guide us, strengthen us, give us courage as we need it and remind us of the hope we have beyond the coronavirus and beyond any and all good and bad that this world presents to us.
I can't help but think of and echo the beautiful melody and words of our beautiful Easter songs, especially the ones found in the song "Alleluia Love is Alive" by Steve Angrisano who gave us a wonderful Easter Season gift last year in a three-night mission here at Sacred Heart Church. The refrain, says: "Alleluia, Love is alive; conquered the grave and defeated the night. Alleluia, Love is alive! The Son has arisen for all. Your people sing Alleluia." Let us ALWAYS rejoice that Love (Jesus, The Risen Lord) is alive for us and with us until the end of the ages!!!
While it is probably a good practice by this point to take it one day at a time and not try to look ahead to when this pandemic is over and we can live our lives more freely than we have been, I can't help but reflect upon the Gospel for the Mass of the Ascension of the Lord (May 24) when we will hear the risen Lord, right before he ascends to his throne in heaven say to the apostles "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mth 28:20). I have been comforted, as I know the apostles accepted with faith that Jesus was both leaving them AND remaining with them. He now bi-locates for the benefit of all humanity, especially those who take these and all his words to heart. These times of struggling with "being alone" more or much more than usual for most of us can be a call for us, in faith to be comforted and strengthened by the reality that we are never completely alone as the Lord is ALWAYS with us to guide us, strengthen us, give us courage as we need it and remind us of the hope we have beyond the coronavirus and beyond any and all good and bad that this world presents to us.
I can't help but think of and echo the beautiful melody and words of our beautiful Easter songs, especially the ones found in the song "Alleluia Love is Alive" by Steve Angrisano who gave us a wonderful Easter Season gift last year in a three-night mission here at Sacred Heart Church. The refrain, says: "Alleluia, Love is alive; conquered the grave and defeated the night. Alleluia, Love is alive! The Son has arisen for all. Your people sing Alleluia." Let us ALWAYS rejoice that Love (Jesus, The Risen Lord) is alive for us and with us until the end of the ages!!!