April 23, 2006

Easter is a triumphant Feast and so we continue the celebration for 50 days, all the way to Pentecost. In fact, every Sunday all year long is considered "a little Easter Sunday". The Easter season is probably less well known than Advent or Lent, yet it is very significant because we continue to live in the light of Jesus' resurrection and are challenged repeatedly to reflect on the difference the Easter event makes in all of our lives.

In last week's "America" magazine, the editorial reflected on "The Promise of Resurrection". I found it very insightful and incorporated some of it in my Easter homily. I'd like to share here a few parts of the editorial that I found very helpful to my own prayer. I hope you will find them helpful too:

Christian hope is rooted in Christian realism. Authentic hope is, above all, resilient; it survives the shattering of all expectations. It is capable of confronting a future that can never be clearly predicted and certainly cannot be fully controlled. Easter hope always deals with possibilities rather than guarantees. Hope, when all is said and done, is quite different from security. In our individual lives, as well as in the larger march of history, our Easter faith does not provide any exemption from darkness and danger. But Easter does remind us of the deepest ground of our trust that there is meaning in our world as in our personal lives . . . .

The religious memories that engage us during Holy Week are fulfilled on Easter morning; but they are, after all, memories of suffering - the exile of Israel, the passion and death of Jesus - and these same memories of suffering and death are the source of a renewed hope. Authentic hope does not blink at the dark realities of life: pain, betrayal, oppression and death. Authentic hope is grounded in the unshakable trust that God will be faithful to his people, and the power of his Spirit can transform darkness into light, rescue love from loneliness and bring life out of death. . . .

The resurrection of Jesus confirms our trust that life comes after death and that life comes out of death. The promise of eternal life awaits us at the end of our pilgrimage, and the promise of new life is present in the daily dying of a life lived in love. The Lord has risen and has gone before us. We need not fear the future.

May the joy of Easter continue to grow in your hearts and lives . . .

Alleluia!
Fr. Chuck