Have a most Blessed Easter and Easter Season!

During the season of Lent, especially in the Year A cycle of readings, we listen to and meditate on that moment in the earthly life of Jesus when He is transfigured on the mount in the presence of Peter, James and John. The reputable Catholic theologians and scripture scholars all agree that the Transfiguration of the Lord is a glimpse given to the disciples and eventually the world, of the true divinity and glory of Jesus as God. However, it reveals to us that this is also to be our destiny if we obey the command of the Father to listen to Him, Jesus, in Whom the Father is well-pleased. It also reveals to us that the glory of the Lord will come but only after His Passion and death, as He tells Peter, James and John.

We are now at that time when the Passion, death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus are upon us. Are we ready for this? Has our Lenten discipline prepared us to be able to participate in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, to participate in His Passion, and to wait in faithful prayer and vigil for the day of all days, Easter Sunday?

Let us hope and pray that we can say “yes” to those questions with complete and joyful truthfulness! Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum are the most intensely spiritual days in the life of the Church and its year. Beginning with Palm Sunday and taking us day-by-day with Jesus in this week, we have the grace-filled opportunity to put our sins behind us through the sacrament of penance. We walk with the Lord in imitation of Our Blessed Mother, St. John and St. Mary Magdalen in His Passion and death, but also to His glorious Resurrection. Imagine their grief and sorrow, but also imagine their joy to see Him and touch Him on that first Easter day!

Let us meditate on this truth. Jesus did all of this for us, not because He had to but because in obedience to the Father and as God, He wanted to and for no other reason than that He loves each of us with an eternal love. Jesus has given our true lives back to us. Do we know this? Does this truth make any difference to us? If we answer yes, then our yes should be clearly visible in our words and actions which will be an imitation of Him.

May this coming Easter Sunday and the entire Easter season be a cause for our abiding joy, and may we be ever more faithful to Him Who has restored us to life and reopened the gates of Heaven for those who love Him and long to be united to Him in Paradise. Have a most Blessed Easter and Easter Season!