It’s Easter Weekend and we have been preparing our minds and spirits since Ash Wednesday for the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have been abstinent; we have fasted; we have done acts of charity and spent much time in prayer.
We have even witnessed the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI and the election and installation of Pope Francis.
So, when Easter Sunday comes and goes, what will you do? Will you continue to experience some of the change that occurred during Lent or just be glad you can have back what you gave up for Lent?
Although my attempts at giving up something tangible for Lent were unsuccessful, I have grown during this time. I hope you have as well.
But now, our responsibility, as a part of our continuing conversion, is to grow and draw nearer to God each year, each season, and each day.
I saw an interesting picture graphic on Facebook over the last week. It had quotes under the photos of Blessed Pope John Paul II (“This is what we believe.”), Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (“This is why we believe it.”), and Pope Francis (“Now go do it.”)
Pope Francis washes the foot of a prison inmate during the Holy Thursday Mass
of the Lord’s Supper at Rome’s Casal del Marmo prison for minors March 28.
(CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)
I thought it was a very interesting summary of the legacy of these men as well as what it gives us as an example. Each pope is different and will have a different focus during his ministry, but we have seen something very unique in Pope Francis lately. He’s not just talking, he is out there doing what we have all been called to do in exercising our faith.
What’s my point? It’s simple, really. When Easter Sunday has come and gone; when the candy and colored eggs have been consumed and all of the egg hunts are done, we must be fundamentally changed. We cannot go back to living as we did before, because to do so would undermine all of the growth we have experienced to this point.
So go and do.