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We embrace the joy of easter with mary our mother,
We embrace the joy of easter with mary our mother,
as we begin with this song:
The Easter invitation
This is the heart of Easter – to allow the love of God and the power of that love to transform us. The Easter invitation is clear: 'Empty your tomb!'
To be able to identify our weaknesses
and our strongest temptations –
that is to already take the first step to conversion
towards becoming a new self.
It means to allow Him who can make the silent stones sing
roll away and liberate you from your tomb,
and to let Him summon His angels
to help you pry yourself out of the darkness
of your previous life and to step into His light.
This is the heart of Easter – to allow the love of God
and the power of that love to transform us.
We hope to follow in the footsteps of the Risen Lord
as we leave empty the tomb of our old selves.
The Easter invitation is clear:
“Empty your tomb!”
The Hope of Easter
It may be the case that you are not so optimistic
about changing yourself and improving your life.
The memory of countless past – and failed – attempts
to reform yourself may discourage you.
But Easter is about hope
precisely when it has been devastatingly dashed to the ground.
Easter is about “God making all things new”:
More than any other season,
it’s the time to get rid of old wineskins,
old ways of seeing things and doing things,
and making the decision to believe –
and to hope against every hope –
that this time may just be different.
Just as our Lord has turned clichéd sayings
into something refreshing and subversive on Holy Thursday and Good Friday,
he does the same for Easter, renovating a familiar phrase
and teaching us something novel.
The Easter mandate is not
“to cross the bridge when we get there!”
Rather, it is this:
We need to build the bridge
when we get there
because in so many places in the world,
the bridges have yet to be built
and they need to be built.
As children of Easter,
we are called to be bridge-builders.
Every time you build a bridge, you never know how far it can take those who eventually get to cross it
When former Secretary of Health, Juan Flavier, passed away and was waked at the circular chapel
of the Church of the Risen Lord on the UP Diliman campus, many came to pay their last respects to a man best known for his dedication, hard work, and humor –including numerous VIPs from the government.
But among the countless tributes paid to this outstanding public servant,
one of the most touching and unforgettable was scribbled by a young lady
at the back of the guest list to Flavier’s wake.
As it turned out, the lady had been one of the beneficiaries of Flavier’s Oplan Sagip Mata,
a program launched more than 20 years ago and intended to help poor, vision-impaired Filipino children.
The note said:
“My life was changed by his Oplan Sagip Mata almost 20 years ago, and thanks to this great man
I was able to live differently despite being born cross-eyed and poor.
“Without him, I could not have achieved the honors I have achieved,
and his health programs have helped me reach places I never thought I would.
I even graduated summa cum laude from this university, and this is all thanks to your great father/grandfather/loved one.”
It was signed by a Sandra Magalang,
UP Diliman 2010, 2014.
Sandra went on to take the 2014 bar exam
Sandra went on to take the 2014 bar exam
and based on the results released last week,
she emerged as one of its top passers this year.
Every time you build a bridge, you never know how far it can take those who eventually get to cross it. Easter hope brings peace even in the midst of turbulence
Bryan Warnecke is a 15-year-old who suffers from cystic fibrosis
Bryan Warnecke is a 15-year-old who suffers from cystic fibrosis
a fatal disease of the digestive system that eventually shuts down the lungs. Despite his daily rigorous treatment, the disease is expected to end Bryan’s life by the time he’s 36.
Yet far from sulking like a despairing victim and giving up on life,
Bryan has chosen to live in hope, appreciating every single day that he is blessed with.
Easter hope brings peace even in the midst of turbulence.
Easter tells us that peace is not so much about the absence
of turmoil – or problems or crisis. Rather, it is more about doing the right thing,
doing what God wants us to do – even if it is not easy or even if it is painful.
This is precisely what our Lord has done in His Passion and Death.
Peace is a subversive presence, hiding and lingering even where it is totally unexpected.
Bryan’s story is an Easter story, brimming with a hope and filled with a sense of peace that comes not from this world.
video: It is entitled “I Lived” By One Republic
video: It is entitled “I Lived” By One Republic
Watch this video clip dedicated to him.
Is there an area in your life – or a person – causing you pain and where the Lord is inviting to 'take the pain' out of love?
One of the best lines in the song “I Lived” is: “I hope you don’t suffer, but take the pain.”
This is what the Risen Lord has done in His Passion:
not to suffer passively, but to take the pain―and to do so for one and only one reason:
love.
Jesus invites us to do the same.
Is there an area in your life – or a person –causing you pain and where the Lord is inviting you
not so much to suffer, but to “take the pain” not out of your own need, but out of love?
(Remember, there is such a thing as tough love!).
How can you respond to this invitation?
We’ve been going through another Lent, but to end our Holy Week and begin the Easter season, let us allow Lent and its mysteries to go through us one more time.
We look back at what the Lord has embraced to win us our redemption, and what he has offered in exchange.
The depth of the seas is a powerful metaphor for the unfathomable depth of God’s love.
It is because of this vastly infinite love that Jesus has chosen to “take the pain.”
Let our grateful hearts speak to the Lord as we contemplate this montage of divine love. Let this be our Closing Prayer today.
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