Happy Easter,
Yes, last Sunday was Easter, but today we complete the Octave of Easter and we still have the majority of the Easter Season until we get to Pentecost. While we usually just talk of 40 days of Lent and preparation, we have 50 days of Easter and celebration. But I think we can probably do a little better than just celebrating over all of this time.
As Lent is traditionally seen as a sign of penance and often giving something up, hopefully overcoming a bad habit or a vice that we might have, maybe in these 50 days of Easter we can work on a good habit or a virtue. As Easter comes with the Spring and the dramatic new life of bunnies hopping around your yard (I won’t state whether that is a good or bad thing) and flowers blooming and trees budding, we realize that the ordinary time of the year is a time for growth, but this Easter Season can be a time for an especially graphic and joyful growth.
Consider Jesus as he met and talked with the two men on the road to Emmaus, they knew everything that had happened in Jerusalem, and yet didn’t understand or appreciate what really happened and what it meant for them. The men didn’t even realize they were with Jesus until the end when they broke bread with Him, but then they couldn’t contain themselves and they also had to share that joy with others.
Maybe during this Easter Season we can be like the two on the road to Emmaus. It isn’t that we need additional gifts really, or even to develop them, as much as we need to recognize and appreciate all that He has already given us. Then, once we do recognize them for what they are can we show the joy of knowing it. Let Jesus show us the true meaning of all he has given us and be open to more fully understand what this means. Then once we realize this we truly celebrate when we share the joy of recognizing Christ’s gifts with one another.
Peace,
Fr. Nick
St. Joseph Catholic Church, Clayton MO 