Tuesday within the Octave of Easter(Click here for readings)
Jesus said to Mary, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him..." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "...Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord..."
Now what? I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, so I will say it now: I have always found Lent to be a more productive or enriching time of year than Easter. I know. I know what you are thinking. But think about it for a moment. During Lent we have specific tasks to accomplish: we have to eat fish on Fridays, go to confession and try to keep promises we made for forty days. So now what? What do we do after Lent and during Easter? Do we relax and enjoy the show? Do we go back to what we were doing before?
I don't know about you, but I could sure use another forty days to work on myself. Don't get me wrong. I had a pretty good Lent, but I could sure use some extra time to keep working on a few personal items.
So is Lent ever really over? Not at all. We will always need to keep working hard to be the person God created us to be. This quest will not be accomplished in just forty days, and maybe not even in forty years! Lent takes a lifetime because it is my true self I keep chasing after.
Do you remember what your goal was during Lent? Yes, myself forty days from now. Was that it? No. I want to be a better person, the person God created me to be since the beginning of time. Well then, you know what it takes, right? Yes. It takes a lot of prayers and perseverance.
I have seen the Lord. So if Lent is a lifelong process, then what's the purpose of Easter?
Easter is about sharing to all the world the Good News of the risen Lord and what the Lord has done for us.
He is Risen...and so have we, to a certain extent. During Lent we changed, and changed for the better. Now it's time to tell the world all about it. Go, and tell the world what the Lord has done for you.
This morning I met with a young lady who will soon be a mommy. During Lent, her husband decided to make her breakfast every morning and bring it to her. I asked her what he plans do now that Lent is over. "He said he wants to continue doing it," I said, "Bravo! A new man has risen from Lent." I then asked her what she did for him. She said, "To pick up after myself and not leave anything in the kitchen sink." I asked her what she was going to do now that Lent was over. "Keep doing it?" Bingo! Sounds simple, right? Yes and no.
Lent is all about making small changes that make huge differences in our lives.
After Lent. Mary Magdalene was the first person ever to witness the greatest miracle ever and live to tell about it. She was filled with great joy. But her day didn't begin this way. The Lord found her outside the tomb, in sorrow and weeping. But after her encounter with the risen Lord, she ran to the Apostles, fearful yet overjoyed, and said to them, "I have seen the Lord."
He rose and so did she.
Where do we encounter the Risen Lord? On our way through life's many blessings and challenges: on the mountain tops and in the valleys; through tears of joy and tears of sadness; on rough waters and calm seas. Mary Magdalene encountered the Lord in the worst moment of her life and in the greatest moment of His life.
What does it mean to evangelize? It means to share what the Lord has done for us, even in forty days.
Do not be afraid! If Mary Magdalene could evangelize the Evangelists, then we can do the same.
Let's report to the world what the Lord has done for us.
I agree. God has called each of us to such a great purpose. Psalm 139 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." When I was a teenager I thought this meant that we had to accomplish something awesome by the world's standard (cure cancer, end poverty, etc.) I now know that God has called us each in his/her own measure. Some are called to great things but we are all called to do "small things with great love." (Mother Theresa) For me, Lent helps me to redirect myself on a better path. After Easter, I may have a new habit but now, through a renewed appreciation for Christ's sacrifice, I am able to do it with great love--Christ's love.
ReplyDelete“I hate God,” one lady blurted to me last Holy Wednesday morning. “He took my eldest son. It was too painful. And then after some few months, my youngest got ill, and deeply I begged God, “Please, save my youngest!” And yet, he took my youngest.” God did not listen. Where was he? And in silence, almost a whisper I said, “I do not know what to say. I too am hurting. I will cry with you. I am sure God will give us time to mourn, later, we will understand.” This is what I learned from lent, it gives us time to understand God later, so we can loudly shout alleluiah, he is risen.
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