Happy Easter - A New Start
(Originally posted April 9, 2012)
Happy Easter!
It's wonderful just to say it, isn't it? Glorious, in fact. And with that we begin anew - but not by backsliding, not by going back to the old ways, just because Lent is over and we're in that giddy mood of celebration rather then the more somber mood of mortification.
We don't observe any holiday for Easter in the U.S. They still do in Europe, but then again, the Faith is terribly weak for so many people there. But we don't have a holiday here, and so it's right back to work. I keep saying that I'll take off Easter Monday, but I've still not been able to manage my time well enough to do that. (How many years have I been planning to do this, and still haven't succeeded?)
Here's a first thought as we begin the work week: get to confession. Yes, I know that you may have just been to confession in preparation for Easter. But I ran across this commentary from Pope Pius XII on confession, and particularly struck me as we get back into the swing of things after the glorious celebration of Easter Sunday:
If you're fortunate enough to work near a Catholic Church that offers confession during the week days, as I am, you can get to confession during the week. Frequent confession is a lot easier this way. In fact, I'm so used to this convenience, I wonder if I'd really get to confession all that often if I had to rely on the usual hour or so on Saturday afternoons that most parishes offer confession these days.
Now that I think about, God really has made getting to confession easy for me. Deo Gratias!
Along with frequent confession, I could work on my daily examination of conscience. This was something I really wanted to improve during Lent, but as you might imagine, did so with mixed success. One thing that somewhat improved was that occasionally I spend a few minutes in the middle of the work day in recollection, thinking about how the day was going, examining my conscience - albeit in a rather disorganized, sloppy way. With God's grace, I can keep working on this every day.
So now that the Easter Season replaces Lent, I'm hoping and praying that the ever-so-slight modest progress I made during Lent serves as a springboard to my spiritual life. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could more consistently take a few minutes in the midst of every busy day at work to assess my day by examining my conscience?
I pray Easter won't find me slipping back into the combination of busy-ness and spiritual laziness that prevents me from my mid-day examination of conscience. I hope my indifference to Jesus that frequently marks my work days is replaced by a fresh zeal, by a real love for Him who suffered so and gave His life so that I could be happy with Him someday in Heaven.
Perhaps the graces of Lent and of Easter will push and sustain me in my daily quest to work my way to Heaven.
Happy Easter!
It's wonderful just to say it, isn't it? Glorious, in fact. And with that we begin anew - but not by backsliding, not by going back to the old ways, just because Lent is over and we're in that giddy mood of celebration rather then the more somber mood of mortification.
We don't observe any holiday for Easter in the U.S. They still do in Europe, but then again, the Faith is terribly weak for so many people there. But we don't have a holiday here, and so it's right back to work. I keep saying that I'll take off Easter Monday, but I've still not been able to manage my time well enough to do that. (How many years have I been planning to do this, and still haven't succeeded?)
Here's a first thought as we begin the work week: get to confession. Yes, I know that you may have just been to confession in preparation for Easter. But I ran across this commentary from Pope Pius XII on confession, and particularly struck me as we get back into the swing of things after the glorious celebration of Easter Sunday:
“As
you well know, Venerable Brethren, it is true that venial sins may be
expiated in many ways which are to be highly commended. But to ensure
more rapid progress day by day in the path of virtue, we will that the
pious practice of frequent confession, which was introduced into the
Church by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, should be earnestly
advocated. By it, genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary self-control is attained, and grace is increased by virtue of the Sacrament itself.”
If you're fortunate enough to work near a Catholic Church that offers confession during the week days, as I am, you can get to confession during the week. Frequent confession is a lot easier this way. In fact, I'm so used to this convenience, I wonder if I'd really get to confession all that often if I had to rely on the usual hour or so on Saturday afternoons that most parishes offer confession these days.
Now that I think about, God really has made getting to confession easy for me. Deo Gratias!
Along with frequent confession, I could work on my daily examination of conscience. This was something I really wanted to improve during Lent, but as you might imagine, did so with mixed success. One thing that somewhat improved was that occasionally I spend a few minutes in the middle of the work day in recollection, thinking about how the day was going, examining my conscience - albeit in a rather disorganized, sloppy way. With God's grace, I can keep working on this every day.
So now that the Easter Season replaces Lent, I'm hoping and praying that the ever-so-slight modest progress I made during Lent serves as a springboard to my spiritual life. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could more consistently take a few minutes in the midst of every busy day at work to assess my day by examining my conscience?
I pray Easter won't find me slipping back into the combination of busy-ness and spiritual laziness that prevents me from my mid-day examination of conscience. I hope my indifference to Jesus that frequently marks my work days is replaced by a fresh zeal, by a real love for Him who suffered so and gave His life so that I could be happy with Him someday in Heaven.
Perhaps the graces of Lent and of Easter will push and sustain me in my daily quest to work my way to Heaven.
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