Man of Sorrows

Do we really know what we celebrate this Easter season? Not just intellectual knowledge, but really know it in such a way that its taken possession of our lives? Does the full force of what happened on Easter hold sway over our whole mind, heart, soul and life? Has the shaft of that arrow plunged deep into our hearts?

There is always room for us to grow here – to yield more to the enlightening fire of the Holy Spirit. In a certain way, the whole Christian life is about letting the truths revealed in Easter increasingly revolutionize our lives. Do we feel like we are fairly mature disciples? Perhaps, but press onward! There is always more!

This Easter season, let’s plunge into that ‘more!’ Let’s come before our Father – that He may bring us to newer heights of deep, visceral understanding. Let us give way to the flint-strike of His Light so that we may be set aflame and our lives ruptured and changed – like Peter’s was long ago.

For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:6)

“The Church exists to evangelize, it is her deepest identity” (Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi). This literally means the Church exists to proclaim and testify to the ‘Good News.’ But, the ‘Good News’ brings us right back to Easter morning. Thus, if we don’t let the Lord hit us between the eyes with what Easter means for us, then we will be evangelically tongued-tied and feel an inner perplexity to all promptings to evangelize, naturally asking, “Testify to what?” In this way, we must grow and be changed by Him so that we can go on mission with Him.

Let’s imitate our spiritual father, Pope Francis:

I never tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” (Evangelii Gaudium)

In short, as Christians we need the Lord to convert our hearts to the deeply personal and utterly universal truth of Easter.

This song is a great place to start. It lucidly presents the reality of the Gospel message and the life-changing joy that it brings (especially the dramatic fourth verse).

Listen to it. Pray with it. May it move us to praise Jesus and open ourselves to the Spirit that impels us to bring Him to others.