It is early in the morning of March 7th, as I jot down my first thoughts for this Easter message to my wonderful St. Pius X community.  I am in Racine at Siena Center, attending the Provincial Chapter of the Society of the Divine Savior, my religious community.  Siena Center is right on Lake Michigan and, as I walked from my room to get the first cup of coffee that I sip with the Lord each morning, I passed a window facing East and was greeted with the sun just peeking out of Lake Michigan, its rays lighting up the various strands of light, fluffy clouds in the sky.  I sat and watched for a while (true confession: after I ran and got the coffee) as the sun rose and the colors in the sky became more vibrant and alluring.  I sat there, spell-bound by the beauty of the moment.

But the brightness and alluring colors only lasted a very short time.  Then the sun was up and the light spread and daylight was everywhere.

It strikes me what a wonderful analogy this is for what we celebrate today: the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The event we focus on today is like the sun rising in the morning: with all its initial beauty, it drives away the darkness that envelopes the earth and brings light and warmth to a waiting world.  Jesus came to bring the warmth of the Father’s love and the light of Gospel truth to a world in darkness: He brought us salvation.

But while on Easter Sunday we reflect on and marvel at the life-saving event of His Resurrection, we must remember that its purpose is to give light and warmth to the whole world.  Just as the beautiful, alluring colors of the dawn quickly give way to the light and warmth that spread over the whole world, our task, as disciples of Jesus, is to make sure the Good News of the resurrection spreads over the whole world, that the light and warmth of living Gospel values invade every corner of the world where we, His disciples, move.

As we remember and celebrate Christ’s resurrection with gratitude this weekend, let us renew our commitment, as disciples of Jesus, to bring His light and warmth, His goodness and kindness, to all that we meet. God Bless.

He is truly risen!
Alleluia!  

Church sign of the week: Jesus is back by popular demand.

Palm Sunday is our kickoff to Holy Week, a special time of
remembering the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  It is
unusual that we have two Gospel readings at Mass: a reading of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the very beginning of the service and the Passion of our Lord according to Mark at the normal place for the Gospel. 
 
As I reflected on this, it struck me that this anomaly is a very clear and direct statement of what Jesus was all about: teaching us that to be first is to be last, to be the greatest is to be the servant to others. Why did I think of that?
 
In the first Gospel reading, Jesus enters Jerusalem, the principal city of the Jews, in a triumphant manner, as would a king (or the Messiah).  It would appear that He was the political Messiah that the Jews were waiting for, the Messiah who would conquer all other nations and make the Jews #1.  But there is one clue that this isn’t the case: He was riding on a donkey, the work animal of the common person, not a mighty steed, as would a “real” king!
 
Then comes the second Gospel, the passion and death of Jesus.  Yes, He was the Messiah, but not an earthly power. He was the Messiah who suffered and died for all of us.  He put Himself last in service to us: that was His messianic role.  His triumphal entry into Jerusalem was preparation for the greatest act of service for others in human history.
 
The message to us, who call ourselves “Christian,” is that to be first is to be last, to be first is to serve others! There is no way around it: Jesus gave us the clearest example in His actions on Good Friday.
 
As we move through Holy Week to our celebration of the Resurrection, I invite us to reflect on how well we are doing at imitating our Master, who gave Himself for our salvation.  We need to give of ourselves for others.
 
May you have a spiritually fulfilling Holy Week.  God bless.
 
Church sign of the week: Share love and it grows; share sorrow and it lessens.

Most often when we see a picture or statue of Christ, it is the strong, radiant, risen Christ.  But our scriptures keep reminding us that Christ was a human being like us, with the same emotions, who had to find His way to His Father’s will and then accept it.  He wasn’t always in control.  In our reading from Hebrews, we hear, In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death… “With loud cries and tears”!  It wasn’t easy for Him, as it wouldn’t have been for us.
 
In the Gospel, Jesus realizes that things are getting closer and closer to a deadly confrontation with the religious leaders. He says that “His hour” has come.  He then says, I am troubled now.  Yet what should I say?  ‘Father, save me from this hour’?  But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.  We can see Him going back and forth in His mind: be saved from this hour or accept it?  The same dynamic plays out in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus ultimately says, not my will but yours be done.
 
How was Jesus able to arrive at this point of accepting such a brutal, unjust death?  Through His consistent pattern of going off by Himself to be in His Father’s presence and seek guidance.  When He
began His ministry, He went into the desert for 40 days.  During that time, He realized that He was not to be a powerful political leader, thus rejecting Satan’s temptations and accepting His Father’s will.  He went off to pray by Himself before He chose His apostles.  When He was tired, overburdened, confused, etc., He went off by Himself to be in His Father’s presence and calm down, finding His direction forward.  The final time was in the Garden of Gethsemane, when, as I noted above, He uttered the ultimate words of obedience, not my will but yours be done.
 
Like Jesus, we are not in control.  “Life happens” and it is sometimes very difficult.  How do we cope?  How do we find our way forward?  Jesus shows us how: give God time and space to be with us and we will surely find our way.
 
As we enter into the final stage of Lent and prepare for Holy Week and our memorial celebrations of Christ’s suffering and death, I invite us to spend extra time in quiet conversation with the Lord.  Like Jesus, we can complain and share our troubles, even with “loud cries and tears,” but we also need to be quiet and listen.  Ultimately, we need to be able to say, not my will, but yours be done.
 
Church sign of the week: If Jesus can rise from the dead, you can get out of bed on Sunday morning.

Our first reading from the end of the second book of Chronicles gives an overview of salvation history through creation, the fall, the covenants God made with His people, their unfaithfulness, the exile, and their return to Jerusalem through the largess of a pagan king.  What comes through it all is that God’s love is always there. He never abandons His people, no matter what they do: He is waiting for their return.
 
The same is true today: no matter what we do, the Lord is waiting for us to return to Him.  That is the focus and purpose of Lent: Come back to me, with all your heart.  Don’t let fear, keep us apart…Long have I waited for your coming home to me…
 
The sacraments are a special way we come to God in our need.  At Masses this weekend we have the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, asking God to heal us and support us in our weaknesses.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an opportunity to return to the Lord, asking forgiveness for what we have done wrong or for the good we have failed to do.  In addition to our normal confession times on Saturday afternoons, we have the opportunity on Tuesday evening, March 19th, to participate in a communal celebration with individual confession afterwards.  Three priests will be available. I urge you to mark your calendar for that evening and join with other members of the community in celebrating this important sacrament as a preparation for the celebration of Easter.
 
Finally, on Holy Thursday we remember the institution of the Eucharist: Christ feeds us with His Body and Blood, strengthening us to be better able to move through life living the Gospel values of love and forgiveness. I hope you can join us as we gather, as the Body of Christ, to celebrate this wonderful sacrament.
 
Jesus suffered, died for our salvation, and rose from the dead, all of which we remember on Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter.  The sacraments are the gift which bring us the graces Christ has won for us.  Please join our community as we walk with Christ through these final days of his life, his death, and his resurrection.  To prepare ourselves well, let us take advantage of all the above-mentioned opportunities to receive the sacraments.
 
Church sign of the week: I have given God a thousand reasons not to love me.  None of them have changed his mind.