Father's Reflection 3.31.24

Easter is not the end…there is MORE!

With these important days of Christmas and Easter, we as Catholics sometimes reduce the celebration to a single day. In reality, the Church invites into a whole season of celebrating these most important moments in human history: God becoming a man, dying, and rising from the dead in Jesus!

Most Catholics would have a hard time explaining why it is important that we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead, and if that’s the case, it is likely we will kind of “check out” of thinking about it after Easter Sunday Mass. For some, they might even check out of going to Mass until Christmas at the end of this year.

Allow me to explain a little of why it is important that we stay “tuned in” to our faith as we go forth from Easter Sunday:

By dying and rising from dead, Jesus destroyed the power of Satan, death, and sin, but the power of His Resurrection had yet to be fully given to His disciples until Pentecost 50 days later. Jesus told His followers to “wait for the promise of the Father…you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5). 

Without the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were cowering together in fear in a locked room. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, they were filled with boldness in proclaiming Jesus as Lord, though it would cost many of them their lives.

We need to stay “tuned in” to our faith because we too easily cower in our fears and anxieties, frustrating our deeper desires for a fulfilled life, which is to be in dynamic relationship with Jesus and sharing that relationship with everyone around us. Without being renewed and transformed in the fire of Jesus’ love, which is the Holy Spirit, life easily becomes discouraging, stagnant, and even hopeless. 

Along with Sunday Mass attendance every week, please incorporate into your daily time with God a prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking for the “MORE" our heart desires: more love, joy, and peace that overflows into all of our relationships. 

Use this prayer that we are distributing at the end of Easter Sunday Mass or another that suits you better. I have said this prayer every morning for the last 7 years or so, and my relationship with Jesus and others has experienced continual transformation as I let the Holy Spirit do more of the “heavy lifting” in my life and in my heart!

May God bless you and your family abundantly in this season of joy and anticipation of MORE Holy Spirit to come!

Rejoice in hope,

Fr. Joel