Easter Greetings!
The celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday is such a glorious day, and it is so glorious, it spills forth into the 50 Days of Easter Season as we continue to rejoice in the new Life of the Risen Christ.
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| Above and below are views inside Ascension Church decorated for Easter Sunday and Season |
Just as the winter gives way to spring and the rising of the sun signals the end of nighttime darkness and the start of a new day, so the Resurrection of Christ proclaims the beginning of new and glorious Life for us, the faithful.
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| Two of my favorite sunrise pictures from onboard the westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief train from July 2022. Above is in western Kansas, west of Garden City getting close to Colorado. Below is the view from south of Needles, CA. In the picture appears the Colorado River with Arizona on the far side and in the foreground is California. |
To start class, our opening prayer was the song "Alive (Mary Magdalene)", which provides a perspective of the Resurrection from the viewpoint of St. Mary Magdalene.
Christ is alive, and as people joined to Him by faith, we share in the newness of Life He won for us by the Resurrection. This Life in us sends us forth, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to proclaim the Good News to all the world.
We begin our lives joined to the Paschal Mystery of Christ's Death and Resurrection in baptism. The anniversary of my baptism was the day before this class, on April 28, so I was glad to celebrate it with you all.
At the end of the 50-Day Easter Season, we celebrate Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church. By the Holy Spirit, the Apostles proclaimed the Good News of God in different languages so that other people gathered in Jerusalem could understand them. (If you scroll down on this webpage, you'll see a map of all the different geographic places where people came from when they gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost.)
This same Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to develop our relationship with God and grow in holiness as we reflect His character in the world.
The Church in the Vatican II Council emphasized the idea of "The Universal Call to Holiness", in which all people, lay and in religious life, are called to live out their relationship with God.
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception has a piece of artwork that illustrates this idea, entitled "The Universal Call of Holiness".
We have many examples of saints who sought to grow in holiness before God, and as an activity in class, everyone had the chance to create an acrostic of their Confirmation saint's name.
Because of the reality of Christ's Resurrection, we focus on the glory to come, and it impacts us even now. (In fact, toward the end of the Easter Season, we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus Christ, rejoicing that He went to Heaven and will follow Him.) This idea was in the song that was our closing prayer, "Glory Bound" by Matt Maher.
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| The Dome inside Ascension Church depicting the Ascension of Christ |
And so we have reached the end of this Religious Education year. During the course of this year, we learned about Sacred Tradition, the Eucharist, the Bible, the liturgical seasons, our mission as people of faith, the meaning of Confirmation, and how we live out our faith. We had three guest speakers, including my former student Faye, my college friend Will, and my Uncle Bernie. We watched two different documentaries, one about the faith experiences of those in the MLB, and another on stories of God at work in the lives of people in central Illinois.
Looking at your exit slips, you mentioned that you enjoyed the documentaries in class, seeing the National Eucharistic Congress presentation of actor Jonathan Roumie, the snowball tosses, and the food.
Thank you to Hadley for assisting with class, and to Mrs. Lopez for providing so many wonderful treats for our class.
We are truly blessed, not just lucky, but blessed by the time we spent together in class encountering God.
I am so grateful and blessed that I have had the opportunity to be your Religious Education teacher and support you in your faith journey this year. Also, as a Julian alumnus, I'm glad that I had the chance to reconnect with today's Oak Park middle schoolers.
We will gather once more on Wednesday, May 14, for Mass at St. Edmund's at 7 PM.
Please know that although our time in class has concluded, I am still here to support you. Your parents all have my contact info, so you are welcome to have them reach out to me at any time if you seek spiritual support or have questions about faith. I hope to see you at Mass, and please feel free to come greet me before or after. This website will remain in place indefinitely, so you're welcome to come back and visit it if you want to relisten to a song from class or anything.
I strongly encourage you to keep close to the Holy Spirit, Who, as Jesus says in John 14:26, will continue to teach you about faith and remind you of all that you've learned about faith.
We remain connected as One Church by faith in Christ, Who died and rose again, and continue to abide with us by the Holy Spirit.
All my relations.
We look forward to seeing you at the End of the Religious Education Year Mass on May 14 at 7 PM at St. Edmund's Church.
Keep swimming in the ocean of God to encounter His presence.
You are a gift, so be a gift of blessing to others.
You're not just lucky, you're blessed.
Jesus Christ is risen and lives forever! Alleluia!
God's blessings,
Paul
Here is some other Easter music to enjoy:
Here are a couple of stories I didn't have the chance to share in class that tell about the journeys of faith for two people in the sports world.
Father Burke Masters, the Cubs chaplain
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