Easter Week

This week is the beginning for the Resurrection of our Lord for the next seven weeks - the Ascension forty days after Easter and culminating in the celebration of Pentecost on the fiftieth day after Easter. This week is the right moment to reflect upon the meaning of the gift of life we have received in God's raising Jesus from the dead so that we might have eternal life.
Just as it difficult for many of our cultures to face the reality of death, it is difficult to accept the reality of life after death. St. Paul invites us to live in this passing world with our hearts set on the world that will never end. This week let us try to open our hearts to a felt sense of what a difference it makes that the tomb is empty, that Jesus is alive, that he allows us to recognize him in the breaking of bread, and that he missions us to proclaim this Good News.
Each morning this week, we can pause for a moment and simply thank God for our being alive today. Even more, we can thank God for the life that Jesus won for us. Throughout the day, and at different brief moments, we can remember that this is Easter Week and ask to live more freely today, more gratefully. We can name the grace in our own terms and in the context of what we are experiencing, what gets us discouraged or what gives us life. Overall, we want to live the freedom we have been given. If death has no hold on us, so many of our fears would melt away. If we realized our ultimate home is in heaven, our spirits would be lighter and we would walk around more gratefully.
So, as we go through this week, we can let ourselves believe in the Resurrection that was won for us. "Lord, I believe in the gift of life you have given me in the death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus." We can say this act of faith, or sing any of the wonderful Easter songs in the back of our minds, as many times as it takes to let ourselves feel the effects of Easter.
Perhaps we had a difficult Holy Week or Easter. There might have been loneliness or family conflicts. Perhaps we are facing a chronic illness or deep struggles with a loved one, or we are grieving the loss of a loved one. These, and many other struggles can challenge our Easter hope and joy. This is the week to place our trust in the one who is now alive, so that we can live forever. We can ask for the gifts of hope renewal these days. In giving thanks, we can ask that our hearts be opened even more to receive the gift of his Spirit.

The Easter Proclamation (Exultet), the Easter Vigil Liturgy

Light of Christ!
Thanks be to God!
Jesus Christ, our King is risen .



Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes forever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.
It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God,
the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin
to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night when first you saved our fathers:
you free the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin
and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ
broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave
you gave away your Son.

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights, chosen by God
to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day;
it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night
dispels all evil, washes guilt away,
restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and we are reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on us all,
your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

The fifth week of Lent ( March 9 - 15, 2008 )

Last Monday we started the fifth week of Lent . I'm asking forgiveness with this occasion to my Lord and Saviour Jesus , for all my weakness , for being so long away from prayers and meditations .

The Fifth Sunday of Lent brings us closer toward the Passion and death of Jesus. In John's Gospel, we hear the story of the raising of Lazarus. Jesus is not there when his dear friend, Lazarus dies, but after meeting with Lazarus' grief-stricken sisters and himself weeping, he stands at the door of the tomb. "Lazarus, come out!" Jesus commands. The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face. Jesus then told the people, "Untie him and let him go."

Saturday is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated early this year so it would not conflict with Holy Week ( and never is too late to start the novena for the Blessed Saint Joseph ) .

If I experience myself somewhat "at war" with myself, then these are very important days to keep deliberately asking our Lord to help me. It is also a great time to begin to prepare to renew the baptismal promises at Easter. We can reject the unloving choices we've made . If we have developed the habit of naming a desire the first thing each morning, and carrying on a conversation with our Lord in the brief background moments of the day, we are already comfortable with letting the Word or the Season interact with the concrete events of the week. This way of finding intimacy with our Lord, through our daily interaction - even in a very busy life - is so appropriate for the Fifth Week of Lent. We can discover areas that are still resistant to God's grace. We can ask for help to practice new ways of being free, or new ways of loving. We can find ways to make financial sacrifices to give to the poor this week.

Each night this week, we can give heartfelt thanks. The closer we get to celebrating Holy Week and the events that brought us our salvation, each of us can express our gratitude, realizing this was all for me.

May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.