Alleluia! He is Risen! Alleluia!

It is with great joy that we, as a Church, have celebrated Our Lord's Resurrection this past week and that we continue to celebrate until Monday!  I love Lent and Easter for various reasons but my biggest reason is because it's the celebration of God's mercy and love - our salvation!  I don't know about you but oftentimes I struggle during Lent.  Whether I've given something up or am doing a lot or a little for Lent, I never feel like it's enough.  There is always something more that I feel as though I could have done.  This past Lent I decided I would give up and do a few things so that I could focus on doing them well.  Did it work?  Yes, but not without a struggle.  There were many times that I felt like I should have done more.  I would take that to prayer and remind myself that God is bigger than all of my weaknesses and that the point of doing anything is to do it out of love, like Jesus on the Cross.  

No matter how much we feel like our Lent was a success or failure because of how well we kept our penances, Jesus always triumphs!  No matter how distracted or indifferent we might have been, Jesus always triumphs!  Pope Francis in his Easter homily made the following statement:  "Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life!  If up 'til now you have kept him at a distance, step forward.  He will receive you with open arms.  If you have been indifferent, take a risk:  you won't be disappointed.  If following him seems difficult, don't be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do" (Pope Francis, Easter Homily, 2013).  What a beautiful reflection for any season, but most especially for Easter!  Now is the time for us to recognize our need for God's love and his mercy!  Now is the time to embrace it in all aspects of our lives!  For what better reason do we have to be Christians if not the Resurrection of Our Lord?!

Toby Mac has a great song entitled "City On Our Knees".  This song always reminds me of the celebration of the Easter Vigil.  The chorus says, "Tonight's the night for the sinners and the saints.  Two worlds collide in a beautiful display.  It's all love tonight when we step across the line.  We can sail upon the sea, to a city with one King, a city on our knees."  The Church has a beautiful tradition of initiating people into full communion with her on the night of our salvation!  How beautiful is that!?  These people take the Holy Father's words to heart and allow Christ into their life in a deeper and more profound way!  May we be encouraged and inspired by their example!  Let us pray that, upon the celebration of Christ's conquering sin and death, we allow God to penetrate into the depths of our hearts and souls!  That we as Catholics glory in the Lord's gift of victory and triumph over the grave!  There is no better time to embrace the Lord and His Church than here and now!

The Lord has risen as He promised!  Alleluia! Alleluia!

Written by Alycia