Easter Baskets and the Empty Tomb

*Disclaimer: This post is longer than my usual entries. It is actually two posts combined into one because I didn't post the first one when I had intended. Hopefully, you think it's worth the extra few minutes to read. (Forgive me, Kenny!)

I wasn't sure where this post would go, but the title came to me on Wednesday of Holy Week. This reflection is also part of what may possibly be my next book, if it be God's will. As I prayerfully navigated the customs and service times of my new home Parish, I was surrounded by unfamiliar faces and living in this strange in-between space; happy to have found this wonderful place to dwell, yet not quite feeling connected and integrated. Moving to a new city on your own can make for stark moments of loneliness, missing family, friends, and the comforts of familiarity. Thankfully, those moments have been sparse for me, and I have met some very wonderful people.

Throughout these weeks, I participated and absorbed the liturgies of this most beautiful time of the year. I think it helps that there is a better balance of sacred and secular traditions regarding Easter. We aren't as commercially drenched as we are at Christmas time. Stores and homes are filled with lilies, crosses draped in white and gold, and signs proclaiming Alleluia! He is Risen! Even lukewarm believers flock to churches in worship and praise. This Season seems more joy-filled and less stressful.

Collectively, we breathe in the freshness of reclaiming our Faith and the power of God reigning over the world.

For some, Easter ends at sundown on Easter Sunday. Others honor the Octave of Easter, then return to the same ol' same ol' after Divine Mercy Sunday. But we are Easter People, and we know there's so much more to it than that. We are called to be rejoicers and proclaimers of the Good News of Jesus' Resurrection throughout the Seven Weeks of Easter. Our Alleluias and hymns of joy carry us to the celebration of Pentecost.

Holy Week and Easter are so richly steeped in meaning and draw us back to the very ground where Jesus walked and taught. Let us not so quickly forget the details and meaning of it all. We immersed ourselves in the scenes of His entry into Jerusalem, surrounded by waving palm branches and chants of Holy, Holy, Holy! Then, we sat with Him at the Last Supper, humbly accepting His desire to wash our feet with His own hands and feed our souls with His own Body and Blood. After, we sat with Him for hours, knowing the end of His earthly life was near. Next, we stood behind the crowds and watched Pontius Pilate face the conflict before him and within him, ultimately compromising by ordering a brutal scourging. With heavy hearts, we walked along the rocky hill to the place of the skull, watching Our Lord struggle and fall under the weight of the cross which He carried for our sins. We held our breath as we waited for His final breath. And when it came, we sank into mourning as the world burst from the weight of it all and fell into darkness. The silence over the next 24 hours was almost deafening. We could not escape the sadness, regret, and fear of all that had transpired.

Even though we know what happened on Sunday morning, we are still somehow shocked by the truth of it all. The words of the Passion weigh heavily on us, and we grapple with the things we have done and the things we have failed to do. We aren't worth it, Lord! You don't deserve this pain and suffering; we do! But He accepted it all for us!

On Easter Sunday, we are relieved to once again hear the beautiful Alleluias! and see the gloriously decorated sanctuary. Gone is the heavy purple that covers and clings to our conscience. He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed! Let's celebrate! Eat, drink, and be merry!

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Are you still rejoicing and celebrating Jesus' victory over sin and death?

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Are you still elated that, because of His Passion and Resurrection, we may one day share in New Life with Him and all the saints who have gone before us?

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Are you still reminding yourself and sharing that Good News?

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The first week of Easter was very different for us this year when we awoke on Monday morning to hear the news of the passing of our beloved Holy Father. What a gift Pope Francis gave to us with his final blessing on Easter morning. We pray for the repose of his soul, and we pray the Holy Spirit will reign over the Conclave so that God's will be done in the selection of our new Shepherd.

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We still have five weeks of Eastertide to go!!! I am tremendously grateful to all who were reading, praying, and leaning into Lent with me. We made time for serious Faith work ~ asking, knocking, and seeking the truth ~ on our journey with Jesus. As we reflected on Scripture, we took a sincere look at how we spend our days. We examined what we do and why we do it. We connected with the deep history and purpose of our Lenten traditions. We committed to help others, trim our excess, and strengthen our prayer life.

Let's remember that our Lenten sacrifices are not meant to be merely symbolic. They are meant to change us as we purge habits, thoughts, behaviors, and practices that aren't leading us to holiness. Our eyes and hearts were opened to ways we can be more generous with ourselves and our resources.

Jesus said when we give alms, fast, and pray -- not if we do them. And He didn't say we need to make sacrifices and be more generous and prayerful only once a year for 40 days. We are meant to be better disciples through our experience of Lent, and we are called to be different when we arrive at Easter and continue the new healthy, holy habits we formed. That's what is meant to happen every year!

Keep your heart and mind in this beautiful Season of Easter. The Resurrection of Jesus is too big and wonderful and powerful to limit the celebration to one weekend or just to the eight days of the Octave. Let us carry the joy in our hearts, smiles, words, and actions throughout these weeks of Easter. Consider what was changed in you during Lent so that you can carry that joy to Pentecost Sunday.

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After your 40-day look within, how are you different?

What was revealed to you in prayer that resulted in a purging or simplifying of your days? Why would you not continue living and working in that same spirit?

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It takes great Faith and Spiritual wealth to continually work at viewing our material wealth in light of the question: Do I need this, or might the money be better used to help someone in greater need? Pope Francis taught us much about paring down and simplifying, seeing others' needs and being present to them, and serving in humility.

As we continue to ask the Lord to guide us to be more like Him and to grow us to walk in His Way, it will become more natural to trim our excesses in order to help provide for others' necessities. The joyful feeling of helping another who is struggling and suffering far outweighs the fleeting happiness of the "extras" we might buy.

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Throughout the process of my recent move, I asked the Lord to reveal how I might best serve my new community. The answer came in the unexpected. On my second day in my new home, I discovered a great place named The Lord is My Help just down the street. Every day, with only two paid employees and many, many volunteers, they feed a fresh, hot meal to over 150 homeless and homebound people and distribute items from a stocked food pantry to people who struggle financially. That community kitchen has been serving the area for over 40 years! They provide a tangible solution to the hunger problem. No one should be food-deprived in our world, especially in our nation.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me..." (Matthew 25:35)

I knew instantly that this was where the Lord was calling me to serve. It was the answer to a recurring dream I have had over many years, but never understood. Several times, I have had the same exact dream that placed me working in an office on a busy downtown street. Every day, I would make a huge pot of soup and open my doors to serve soup to anyone who came by and was hungry. The dream first came to me when I was still raising school-age children, working full-time for the church, and volunteering as the director of a local crisis pregnancy center. I was busy doing great things that the Lord had called me to, and I worked in offices very far from a busy downtown or hungry, homeless passersby. I couldn't understand why I was having that dream. What did it mean? What was the Lord trying to tell me? My spiritual guides encouraged me to be patient and open. God would provide the answers one day.

As soon as I entered The Lord is My Help on my first day to volunteer, I remembered the dream, and although it looked very different from the place in my dream, I knew this was God's answer. This is where He has called me to serve now. I helped box lunches for delivery to the homebound, and then helped serve the hungry folks who came off the street to sit inside and fill their bellies. We prayed with them and for them. We shared the joy of the Lord with them. They felt seen, loved, and cared for, and so did I, by their joy and appreciation.

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This weekend of the Third Sunday of Easter, we will hear the wonderful story of Jesus appearing to the disciples who had returned to their normal way of life after His death. They thought their mission was over. Even though Jesus had already appeared to them twice after His Resurrection, and they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, they could not yet see the big picture. They didn't understand they were given a new mission.

Jesus didn't give up on them. He needed Peter and the others to understand that God had much bigger plans for them. They were to leave their familiar work of catching fish, which is important work to feed the hungry, but they were being called to something new. They had to put out into deep water to understand that now they were to be fishers of men and shepherds of the Lord's flock.

Jesus asked, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"

Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him three times.

Each time Peter answered, Yes, and Jesus replied:

"Feed my lambs" "Tend my Sheep." "Feed my Sheep." (John 21:1-19)

We follow the Acts of the Apostles throughout the whole Easter Season. We can see the Church take root, come alive, and spread throughout the world. Because of those first disciples, we know Jesus, and every day we have the opportunity to touch Him by receiving Him in the Eucharist. All who love Jesus are meant to carry out His mission now. Each of us has a role. Each of us has a part in the mission of Jesus Christ. His Body and Blood continue to fuel us on the Mission. How do you think we are doing?

As you reflect on this Gospel passage, sit on the shore by the fire with Jesus and hear Him ask you the same question he asked Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" Whatever we give priority in our life represents "these" in His question to us.

What gets the most love, attention, time, and money in your life?

Does your daily life involve caring for His sheep and lambs in some way?

There are sheep in need in every community, and as Christians, we have a responsibility to care for them. Every person has a role to fulfill. God will show you where He wants you to feed, tend, and serve others in your community. He may reveal your role in a dream, through prayer, in an article that touches your heart, in a conversation with others, or a movement of your heart when you see something that isn't right and needs attention. I didn't know how to raise children, work in a Church office, run a non-profit, counsel women who are struggling and considering abortion, or feed the homeless. God nudged me and I stepped in, trusting He would show me the way. And He did!

God will show you the way. It's easy to think, 'I'm doing enough.' or 'I did my part and now it's someone else's turn.' Keep asking what more He wants you to do as our role can change as we change and as greater need arises. Here are two great quotes to hold as you delve into finding your thing that He is calling you to:

God doesn't call those who are perfectly qualified; He perfects and qualifies those He calls. ~ read Saint Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians

God didn't ask me to solve world hunger, just to feed my neighbor. If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. ~ Saint Mother Teresa