We are an Easter people!
The joy of Easter is celebrated not only during the liturgical season we call Easter. It is celebrated every day of the year. The Mass is the Paschal Mystery, and every time it is celebrated, we participate in the sacrifice, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As St. Paul teaches, we die with Christ and rise with Him in the Holy Spirit. We are transformed into new creations. We are renewed.
Stewards of God’s abundant gifts hold dear the promise of renewal and pledge themselves to the work of reconciliation, healing and proclamation of the risen Lord. There is much about dying and rising with Christ that we do not know; much about the Paschal Mystery we do not understand. But stewards of God’s love are always open to learning more; to being called out of their ignorance and into the light of faith which comes with an ever-deeper understanding of its peace and joy.
Easter is a good time to reflect on how we experience the joy of Christ’s peace. It is also a time to ask ourselves how we can experience the gift of Easter each day of our lives.
Alive in Christ!
That’s what we are. Among the many readings of Easter, Saint Paul reflects on this “newness of life” in his letter to the Romans. The Christian life is a resurrected life. It is new life, one of truth, inner joy and genuine fulfillment. God has transformed our lives for all eternity, and that transformation is what it means to be a Christian. Do you know the resurrected life? Have you genuinely experienced it? Good stewards have; and in their commitment to the Lord, they know what it means to be alive in Christ. It is time to rejoice. He is risen! Alleluia!
Reprinted with permission from the International Catholic Stewardship Council.