After forty long days of fasting, prayer and works of Charity, we joyfully proclaim Easter. Our encounter with the risen Christ. This is the center of our charism as Clerics Regular Minor. I encourage our religious family to celebrate the Paschal Triduum and Easter in a solemn, but joyful manner.
Easter makes us realize that joy is demanding. It demands unselfishness and obedience “Be it done unto me according to your word.” Saint John Paul the great said that we are an easter people and by this he means that our joy must not come from the things that can easily be taken away from us. We must seek joy from our faith. How do we seek joy from our faith? The answer is simple, it is to love our neighbor. Simple, but hard to do especially if our neighbor makes it difficult for us to love them. Remember that selflessness does not happen overnight, it is a work in progress every day until such time that self-lessness becomes the way of our life. Selflessness is not when you think less of yourself, but when you think of yourself less.
Today, and many years before, our world has been spiraling in the depths of chaos, division, poverty and all sorts of violence. How can we pull ourselves out from the toxicity that is weighing us down? The answer is once again simple, we surrender to the risen Christ. The act of self- surrender is something that we have to consciously follow every day. When we consciously try to live a life that is pleasing to God then we will slowly see our center and order even in the most hopeless situation.Remember, sometimes new beginnings does not require a change of place, but it most certainly require a change of heart. In this light, as we consciously reflect how to change our hearts, remember that nothing is impossible with God, after all Christ rose from the dead!And he gives us a promise: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12).
Pope Francis stated in an Angelus that “The faith that we possess is like a lamp that we possess and are called to share with others. The Christian must be a luminous person who carries the light, a light that comes from one that is not his own, but a gift of God, a gift of Jesus. We carry this light forward! If a Christian loses this light, “his life doesn’t make sense. He is a Christian in name only,”
As Clerics Regular Minor, we are entrusted by Christ to lead the people towards a life of love and light. How can we do our motto? “Ad Majorem Resurgentis Gloriam”? We are not here to just preach and say be kind and always pray. A sermon on a Sunday can easily be forgotten. Since most of us have social media accounts, and we have so many friends, we can use it to promote our missions and to propagate kindness. More than our words and reflections on the gospel, people need to see visuals and they need to be reminded every day to break through the binding spells of social currency and toxicity. As St. John Paul the Great said that the resurrection of Christ is celebrated by the Church every day. The Resurrection does not end. The resurrection is a future without end and is something that is not measured by days, by years, but by the eternity of God.
The gift of our recent General Diet Chapter has inspired us to be enflamed with living the Paschal Mystery in our lives. Our celebration of the Eucharist is then not a passive event, but one that is not only life-giving for ourselves but for those we serve as well. As we share in the Eucharist, we become missionary. It is like the statue of St Francis Caracciolo, “bread received, bread shared”.
Our General Diet showed us that we, as a religious family, have a compass and light that will direct us to achieve the goals and objectives which come to us from God. In order to achieve these directives, we must follow the walk of Emmaus. Our missions and preaching are not just part of our job descriptions as priest and never think of it as business as usual.Let us be the worthy messengers of Christ as we leave our comfort zones and go the extra mile to do activities that will help those in need. No matter how hard it is, let us love each of our community member as we love ourselves. Never focus on their weaknesses, because we all have mistakes and weaknesses of our own. We will walk following the risen lord by obeying his will and not insisting our wills, desires, and commands. We are ready towards this synodal path of community first and leaving out the parochial mentality of individualism but rather inclusivity. In the next few years, therefore, let us be inflamed with the love of God.
We must not be slaves of this material world by spending or hoarding money or material things that have no eternal value. We must care for each other and avoid speaking ill of one another or other communities, or issues within our delegation. We must be quick to listen, slow to respond , and open to understand our brothers. In this way, we are called to wash each other’s feet, 70 X 7, through reconciliation. In this way, we shall strive to restore brotherhood, a spirit of unity and community.
Brothers, let us head forward! Let us meet the Lord in Galilee where he finds our busy way of life. Let us bring Christ’s presence to the Galilee of this world and return the spirit of God, who loves us fully and cares for us. May we, in that Easter joy, become hunters of souls. Let us always be vigilant with our weaknesses and submit our trials and short comings at the table of the Eucharist where, on a daily basis, the paschal mystery is lived and celebrated. Pray more and worry less. Believe more and doubt less. Do more and speak less. Live more, be happy and let the bygones be in the hands of the LOVING GOD. This for me is my message of Resurrection and new life, my dearest brothers.
I wish you all a Happy Easter! Let us pray for one another and may we always possess that light of Christ which is our life. Please be assured of my prayers for all of you. Please pray for me as I visit our houses in different delegations. All the best!
-Fr. Ted
