May the Glory of the Risen Christ shine upon you and your family and enfold you in his grace and love.
Easter, the High point of the year, brings us again to face the reality of the depths of God’s love for us. We have concluded Lent, that “Happy Season” of reflecting upon how our lives have responded to that gift of God’s love. We have accompanied Jesus through his Passion and death with our heads bent low in shame and tears. We now stand with our heads held high in awe and wonder, bathed in the new light of the resurrection illumining our path ahead. We await with some trepidation for the fulfilment of the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Our task now, as redeemed followers of God’s beloved son, is to continue his Kingdom work. I feel that since last Easter we have all experienced a world and a nation that has gone through a very negative cycle of mutual denigration, scapegoating and preying on fears. This is not God’s way. Our task is to realize that we have been made partners in the most important business of all, Kingdom building. We are the co-workers with God in making the “Kingdom come” to fulfilment now that He has established its cornerstone. Let our focus this year of redeemed grace by no more negativity. Let us build up rather than tear down people’s hopes, dreams and aspirations. We can do this by accepting difference as an enrichment and not a threat, we can do this by getting to know the other, we can do this by remembering Christ’s injunction to “judge not”, and to “be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful”. And that is the point of Easter. God is merciful and we should not throw this grace, the greatest of his gifts, back in his face, for “whenever you do this to the least of my brethren then you do it to me”.
And finally did you notice something about Lent? It is not just 40 days, it is longer! That is because the Sundays are “Sundays days in Lent” not “of Lent”, because every Sunday is a celebration of Easter. So shall we double our efforts to make this Lord’s Day Holy….regularly?!
God bless you and your families,
Fr Aidan Peter CJ
May God bless you, your families, and the week ahead,
Fr Aidan Peter
