New Life

Traditionally, this Sunday has been called “Sunday in White.” On this day in the early church, the newly baptized joined the assembly, still wearing their white baptismal robes. They were clearly visible. They will come Sunday after Sunday to learn how to be a community of faith, and hope and love. This Sunday has also been called “Low Sunday.” In most parishes the celebration for this Sunday is quieter than usual. The community has expended a great deal of energy celebrating the ‘Triduum’ and ‘Easter Sunday’ with lots of enthusiasm and in a fitting manner.

This Sunday is a good time to remember that this quiet day is also one “the Lord has made and to rejoice and be glad in it.” It is a day to be grateful for the new life won at Easter. This gift of new life we shared in at baptism. This gift of new life is the fruit of Christ’s death and resurrection. This new life will blossom into eternal life when we pass over from this life to eternal life. In the baptismal ceremony we say as we place a white robe on the newly baptized: “Receive this white garment as an outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, keep that dignity unstained to the everlasting life of Heaven.” The early Church celebrated the life and faith they held in common. The Spirit of Christ working in and through them was very evident. It was as if their old lives had been replaced with a new life in the Spirit of Christ. They praised God, found new meaning in the Scriptures, shared nourishment in the Eucharist, treated one another with love, endured suffering, and reached out to all in need. They hoped again, laughed again, believed and forgave and lived in peace. This kind of community spread the Good News – that God who had done great things for His people in the past, had done great things in Christ, and does great things for the early Christian community. This God continues to do great things in and through all who believe in Him. He is the God of life, who calls us to the fullness of life. Let us be glad and rejoice because as St. Paul says, “When Christ is revealed – you too will be revealed in all your glory with Him.” The message of today’s Gospel says loud and clear that the important thing in life is “that we believe that Jesus is the Messiah and Lord, and that through this belief we will have life in His name.

“Jesus’ resurrection invites us to open our hearts to the miracle of a new life.

It invites us to allow Jesus to do for us what he has done for billions before us.

It invites us to love again after our love has been rejected.

It invites us to trust again after our faith has been shaken.

The good news of Easter is that Jesus is alive and in our midst.

The good news of Easter is that Jesus wants to work miracles in us.

What miracle do I want Jesus to work in me on Easter?”

[Vision 2000, Praying the Scripture in a Contemporary Way, Mark Link, S.J.]

On behalf of Father Pat and Staff –

We wish all our parishioners, friends and visitors

an Easter full of joy and love.