During Lent we focus on our spiritual battles – the inordinate things we cling to and those we must “give up”.
So what about the 50 days of Easter?
During Easter many of us tend to go into a neutral gear, perhaps brought on by the ‘grace-like’ effects of chocolate. But it’s not really neutral is it if we soon tend to return to the habitus of old ways.
This Easter, beginning with the Octave, we challenge all men to simply ponder and carry one thought forward in their hearts — that nothing is ours. Nothing. Not the i-Things that clutter our life, nor the me-Things the world tells us matters. All has been given and all is sustained by God.
By his own power, Christ rolled away the stone. Only He can roll away the stone from our tombs. Please let him, and allow him to bring Easter light to your life so that you may discover the real ‘I’ in you, liberated by the transcendent subjectivity of the Risen ‘HIM’ who is love.
Living the Easter season
An Easter spiritual reflection should lead beyond a single day of celebration. The fifty days of Easter invite Christians to practice the freedom won by the Resurrection: gratitude instead of grasping, hope instead of discouragement, and generosity instead of self-protection. One simple practice is to place a recurring attachment before Christ in prayer and ask Him to remove whatever keeps the heart closed to His light.
A Practical Easter Examination
Ask what “stone” most often keeps the heart closed: resentment, fear, discouragement, unhealthy attachment, self-reliance, or avoidance of a necessary duty. Name it honestly in prayer, then choose one small action that cooperates with grace.
That action may be forgiving someone, returning to confession, setting aside time for prayer, giving away something needlessly accumulated, or serving a person who cannot repay the kindness. The purpose is not self-improvement for its own sake, but greater freedom to love.
Carry the Resurrection into Ordinary Life
Easter joy becomes credible when it changes daily habits. Give thanks for a concrete gift each morning, make room for another person’s needs, and bring discouragement to Christ instead of nurturing it in isolation. The Risen Lord does not merely decorate the old life; he opens a new way of living.