Sunday, April 21, Easter Sunday
Can you imagine that moment? Can you imagine the stomach drop with dizzying realization: "It's all true. All of it is true! The past three years weren't a dream that ended horribly wrong." Can you imagine all the doubts and despair of the past days chased away like smoke on the wind by a rolled up burial cloth? By an empty tomb?
 
It didn't start that way, of course. "'They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him.'" This frantic news from Mary Magdalene would have been another unexpected blow. After all that happened, now his body has been stolen? The love and devotion in Peter and John is apparent. They don't wait to collect more information or stop by the tomb when they have a chance. They run to the site. When is the last time you ran for something? This isn't a run for exercise, but a huffing and puffing bolt fueled by desperation. Can you imagine that moment? The fear pounding in their temples, matching their accelerated heart rate. Can you imagine the impatient affection of John, who outruns Peter but refuses to enter the tomb alone? And then, upon entry, "He saw and believed."
 
This is the drama of our great feast! The promise that seemed lost has been found. The dead are raised. Long before the Easter eggs and ham, we are invited to meditate on this divine reality. We are invited to feel the desperation and joy of that first Easter Sunday deep in our bones. Because it is not just Mary's story. It's not Peter and John's story. It's our story. From the greatest defeat can come the most awe-inspiring victory, and this is true not just for our God, but for each one of us. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Live the Liturgy: Inspiration for the Week
Alleluia! Christ is risen! We are called, by how we live our lives, to celebrate the risen Christ. How do we do that? Our faith in the resurrection gathers us here today to celebrate this incredible event. The good news is that the doors of eternity are open! We can now understand that the fullness of who we are will be discovered when we one day meet God face-to-face in heaven. Our faith in the truth of who God is and who we are affects how we live our lives and the decisions we make. We are called to love our neighbor...to love those who hurt us...to work on behalf of the poor and the weak...to be people of justice, integrity, and hope... to practice compassion and mercy above anything else. Our lives are meant to be oriented around the axis of the Gospel. Are they?

Sunday, April 14, Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a strange day in our liturgical calendar. We begin by waving palms, but somewhere in the middle, we call for Jesus to be crucified. We celebrate today an equally paradoxical God, one who comes to save through suffering.
 
"I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!" Jesus, who so often in the Gospels tries to hide his true identity, speaks thunderously to the Pharisees who would still the rejoicing crowd. At the Last Supper, Jesus confirms the Messianic promise to his disciples, saying "I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred one on me." Yet, before the night is over, Jesus has been betrayed.
 
We hear the tragedy unfold in Luke's Passion narrative. Jesus is abused by the council of elders, denied by Peter, whipped by Roman soldiers, and condemned to death by Pilate. But what else do we see? Jesus heals someone who came to arrest him, forgives his torturers, promises a repentant man paradise, and - by his loving endurance - converts a centurion at the foot of the cross. Jesus is both Redeemer of the World and Suffering Servant. In taking on the mantle of Messiah, Jesus does not only receive our praise and our accolades, but he bears our burdens and sins and does so with the deepest love. He may go about our salvation in a paradoxical way, but he is dearer to our own suffering hearts for it. This week, we remember that no sorrow of our own is beyond the reach of the compassion of God.

Live the Liturgy: Inspiration for the Week
Once hailed with blessings and hosannas as he approached the Mount of Olives, the same God is nailed to a cross amid cries for His crucifixion. What an ironic twist of fate. What an unjust end to this compassionate, simple, and loving life. Life's ironies and cruelties are dramatically witnessed today and throughout this Holy Week. The thread of God's love is woven through it all as it reveals God's transforming, redemptive, and salvific plan. It is all necessary: the hardship and the joy, the suffering and the glory, the disappointment and the inheritance. When life takes a turn for the worse, we often question where God is. Are we ready to walk through our lives as did Jesus, with a persistent trust that regardless how difficult our journey, all will work out in the end. "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

Sunday, April 7, 5th Sunday of Lent
"The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle." The episode of the woman caught in adultery is a powerful story. We have perhaps all felt as the woman has at some point in our lives, surrounded by those who would condemn us. The beauty of Christ's mercy at the end is clear...and a welcome relief as we all struggle to be good and holy people. But have we ever imagined ourselves on the edge of the circle? Have we pictured ourselves in the sea of dusty robes? Perhaps, we hope, we're hovering at the edge of the circle of judgment. But we've all been there.
 
How easy it is to be righteous when someone else's reputation is at stake. When the small child is acting up in the grocery store or on the plane. When another company has a scandal break or a major error sets back their profits. Could it be easy to pick up the stone and feel its weight and heft in our hands? Because if we've got a stone in our hands, our own righteous category is clear. Our judgment is our insurance that we won't be on the receiving end of the criticism. If we can point out a wrong, surely we are firmly in the right.
 
"'Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her'... they went away one by one." This Lent, not only are we invited to receive God's mercy, but to show God's mercy. As the season begins to wind to a close, consider those in your life you tend to judge the most harshly. What is one concrete way you can drop your stone?

Live the Liturgy: Inspiration for the Week
We are all sinners, and we all need mercy. If met with sincerity and true repentance of heart, an encounter with God's unconditional and all-forgiving love will lead to true conversion and a new life of grace. There is no point to condemnation or excessive punishment. We do not need to wag fingers or make people feel inferior. Jesus met the woman caught in adultery with compassion. He did not condemn her. People have not always been faithful to God. We have not always been faithful to God. Yet, God waits for us to return and trusts that His seeds of forgiveness and mercy will take root. We do not know if the woman left Jesus and sinned no more. It's not important.

Sunday, March 31, 4th Sunday of Lent 
Repentance. Envy. Joy. Hope. Have you felt these human emotions? Today's Gospel offers a rich story, one we can all find our place in. As we reflect on our own spiritual lives this Lenten season, it can be helpful to imagine ourselves in the story of the Prodigal Son.

"I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers." The younger son has sinned greatly, betraying his father's trust and squandering his money in sin. Yet the parable turns on his deep repentance and humble return to his father. Is there any area of your life you have been wandering from God or you've squandered good gifts? This Lent, return to the sacrament of Confession! God, a merciful Father, waits for you there.

"While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him." The father in the parable sees his son's selfishness, perhaps even suspects what he might do, but gives him the inheritance anyway. After his son's departure, the father waits with hope for his son's eventual return. Has someone you love left the Church, made poor decisions, or abused your trust? This Lent is a time to let go of bitterness and to live in hope. Prepare your heart to be merciful!

Not all in the parable invite the mercy of God into their hearts. The self-righteous older brother dishonors his father with his pettiness. "My son, you are here with me always, everything I have is yours." Do you covet what others have? Do you feel as if you've been taken advantage of or that your work goes unseen? This Lent is a time to grow in gratitude. Take a close look at the blessings in our life that you might be missing.

We are all called to repentance. Open your heart to God's personal invitation to growth!

Live the Liturgy: Inspiration for the Week
God does not coerce us into anything. Rather, He gives us the freedom and the means to live like adults, taking responsibility for our choices and the direction our lives take. As our loving Father, He desires that our home be made with Him but understands when we choose to pursue our own passions and desires, which lead us away from Him. We have to learn our own lessons if conversion is to be tangible and real. We cannot return to God simply because we are told to or because we are expected to. We have to come to God freely, and when we do, God is there with loving, open arms ready to welcome us back home. We can celebrate because we were dead and have found life again!