Jesus | Faith Reflection | Easter season
It’s Easter Season! So, why do I feel like I’m still in Lent? Go to Christ in prayer to make all things new!
Easter is a season of ongoing resurrection. It is a celebration that starts with one glorious morning but cannot be contained in a single day, so we continue celebrating the Easter Season. We know Lent is 40 days, and if you are like me, you feel each one. However, we forget that Easter is 50 days, and we are shortchanging ourselves if we are not rejoicing in it!
For many, that is easier said than done. Many people struggle with fear and stress. It's hard to feel like an Easter People living in a fallen world. How do we find hope and happiness? It is good for us to remember that when Jesus rose from the dead, He didn't appear in Jerusalem in a flash of lightning, cast down those who put Him to death, overthrow the Roman occupation, and crown Himself king while making His disciples princes and princesses. After His Resurrection, Jesus did not just snap His fingers and right all the world's wrongs. Instead, He appeared to His believers at critical moments and significant times, but He changed the physical situation of the Apostles and His closest followers very little. They stayed in the same upper room where they hid when Christ was arrested.
One might wonder: if Christ's Resurrection changed so little, did it really matter? The answer is —YES! It transforms everything! It meant that truth was more potent than lies, light overcame darkness, love was more powerful than hate, good triumphed over evil, and life defeated death itself.
The Resurrection of Our Savior meant that no matter what the followers of Jesus were going through, what they faced, or what they were suffering – or would suffer – none of it was stronger than the power, goodness, and love of Christ. Even dying was no longer to be feared because Jesus had won for them the joy of eternal life!
What is more incredible is that Jesus gives that same gift to us! Christ offers new life to whoever loves Him, and for those who take Him up on this gift, He promises Easter after every Lent! In the times we live in today, we might not feel "new"; we might feel beaten down and tired instead. We might feel like we've been wandering in the desert of Lent with no Easter in sight. In those precise moments is where faith, true faith, is so necessary, but how do we fuel that fire of faith, especially when it feels like the flame is down to a few glowing embers? Perhaps I can help with a few suggestions.
The First is PRAY
Now, honestly, when someone tells us to pray, it's easy to roll our eyes and think, "well, of course…" Let's be even more honest with ourselves and consider how often we never actually do it when asked to pray. Sure, we may say a quick prayer before meals or right before bed or squeeze in the occasional "Hail Mary" or "Our Father," but we should actively and intentionally set aside time to pray. I know many of us are incredibly busy. With that in mind, start small. Try 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside that time to get quiet and talk to God, whether with traditional prayer or spontaneous prayer; speak from the heart.
Some of us get easily distracted, or we might feel like traditional prayers need to be more formal or, as some may feel, too boring. On the other hand, spontaneous prayer can feel like we're just talking to ourselves. I recommend the Rosary because it is a combination of traditional, formal prayer, but it is meant to be said while thinking and meditating on the life of Christ. The "Our Fathers" and "Hail Mary's" give the prayer structure and an anchor while we can let our minds dwell, contemplate, and imagine what it would have been like to experience Jesus through the very human person who knew Him best, His Mother, Mary.
The Rosary is the perfect combination of memorization, repetition, and imagination. If saying an entire rosary sounds like biting off more than you can chew, start with just one decade. It takes two to three minutes. The Rosary uses prayers taken from or inspired by the Bible. While reciting them, we think about Christ and, in a way, spend time with Him. The more time you spend with Jesus, the deeper you allow Him to connect with you, and you open the door to let Him make you and all things new!
One more suggestion—pray with your family. If you can't pray with your entire family, pray with some of your family. If you don't live with family, pray with a friend—in person, by phone, or even on Zoom. Yes, arranging everyone's schedules can be daunting, but not impossible. Consider taking some time, perhaps after dinner or before your turn on that next TV show and set aside a few minutes to pray as a family.
You can start with just one decade of the Rosary. I promise if you change your schedule to include Christ, you will be amazed at the powerful changes He will bring to your home. When my parents tried to get my siblings and me to pray a family Rosary as a teenager, we fought the idea, kicking and screaming, but they didn't give up. Pretty soon, we prayed a complete Rosary every night. Not only did we find out that it would take around 20 minutes, but it became a source of true bonding for our family.
Giving a little time to God helped us find time for everything else. If you are not praying together currently, think about family prayer as something new you can do together in Christ.
My last suggestion to help move past Lent and let Jesus lead you into Easter is to act like He did and serve. Help Christ renew your heart and mind by helping others. Prayer is a way to spend quality time with God and get to know Him better, but that almost always leads us to devote more time to ourselves. It helps us understand our hearts better. Service is the perfect complement to prayer because it gets us out of ourselves to see the needs of others and do something to improve their lives.
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Service puts Prayer into Action
How does this help us experience Easter? In God's great genius when we help others, through God's grace, we help ourselves. We forget our worries, fears, and needs for a time. In addition, by lifting the burden of another, our actions allow them to be a happier person and could free them to do good, in turn, for others. Also, just seeing someone else's joy increases ours as well.
Most importantly, it makes us like Jesus. Jesus died and rose for the salvation of others, to save each and every one of us. As Christ sacrificed Himself as a gift to us, then rose again, we also experience a bit of that same resurrection in our hearts when we sacrifice a little bit of ourselves for others. To be clear, this service can be simple and ideal to start in your own home. Pray on it but think if there is something someone in your family consistently asks you to do that you find hard to get around to or that you have been putting off. Even better, if it's a recurring task or request, next time, do it before your family member even asks you. If nothing of this nature comes to mind, think if there is something you see your spouse or one of your kids struggling with, especially regularly.
Surprise them by offering to help with that burden. What if you don't live with family? Then, lend a hand to your roommate, tenant, or friend. If you live alone, then think about giving someone a call who would appreciate it or connecting with that person online. You could even kick it old-school and send a letter to someone who might be lonely. Reaching out to others is particularly effective if you feel alone. Think of how much you would appreciate it if you received an unexpected letter from someone just saying "hi." If you think about – and pray about it – there is probably something, you could do that will help another. In God's great game plan, if we help each other carry our crosses, the sooner and more completely we experience resurrection and the hope, joy, and touch of wonder that it brings. It is a little like what the Apostles must have felt when they found the tomb empty that, Easter Day.
With this in mind, don't feel alone if you are still struggling with being stuck in Lent even though we are deep within this Resurrection Season. However, think of little ways you can let Christ help you join in the celebration. I strongly encourage greater attention to prayer and small, loving acts of service because these are the things our Savior suggested. That said, do whatever you feel Jesus is asking of you. Please remember that no matter how much you may feel trapped in the desert, there had to be the cross before there could be salvation. But now the stone is rolled away, and Our Lord is risen. He is ready and waiting to make you, and all things, new.