Spiritual Reflection

Easter is the great feast of the Christian year. It is why we have prepared for the 40 Days of Lent, and why the Easter Season lasts for so many weeks. The Church needs to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s triumph over sin and death. We all need to celebrate the mystery of resurrection.

No year can go by without instances of violence and war, of tragedies and death. Yet Christians are called to be a people of hope. The mystery of Holy Week, culminating in the feast of Resurrection, is why we can be people of hope. It is why Christians are sometimes referred to as "Easter people."

Jesus conquered death, yet we know people still die. But it is only our flesh that dies, and while our body awaits resurrection, our soul goes on to eternal life. Through faith we know this to be true. While the world as we know it continues, death is how the passage from earthly life to eternal life will take place. However, more important than just offering earthly life, Jesus offers us entrance into eternal life.

Similarly, Jesus conquered sin, but humans are still weakened by original sin, and can see the effects of sin all around them. While the world as we know it continues there is going to be a battle against sin. It is a battle we must wage individually and as a Church.

Easter promises us a better time–the reason for hope. We are reminded to embrace the cross, to face our weakness, to reform our lives, and to work all the more to cooperate with God’s grace. Francis of Assisi, already proclaimed a saint during his lifetime, saw himself as a sinner. He knew the need to be vigilant, and to seek God’s help. He sought to align himself with the Church, to strengthen the Church by a call to repentance, and to use the sacraments for his own spiritual growth. We are wise to do the same.

Pentecost follows Easter, and the Holy Spirit still guides the Church. May Easter help us to recover any lost hope, and may our prayer be that the Spirit renew our Church once again.

–- contributed by Fr. Donald Grzymski, OFM Conv.

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