Don't squash the caterpillars this Easter

   The powerful message of Easter revealed itself to me in two simple photos I took while visiting my family in the Caribbean. Dozens of these caterpillars were crawling along a drive way. My cousin was complaining how messy they were as I was admiring their beauty. Living in a cold climate helps me to appreciate these "taken-for-granted" messiness of nature. While we were talking, this beautiful butterfly fluttered alongside, reminding us that his "cousin" would not be earth-bound forever.
   Returning to my home abroad that year, Easter had a special significance when I proclaimed its dynamism. Here were my words: 
             "Easter proclaims the victory of God through and over the worst we can do to one another. Easter proclaims the vindication of a God who risks everything, even life, to make of the human enterprise one of justice and peace. Easter vindicates the faithful life of Jesus, the hope he harbored, the love he exercised, the death he underwent as a criminal and traitor crawling literally on the ground for us. Now restored, renewed, we proclaim, he is risen from the dead. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia!"
   Next time, don't squash the caterpillars!

Blessings at Eastertime



may the sun
bring you new energy by day,
may the moon
softly restore you by night,
may the rain
wash away your worries,
may the breeze
blow new strength into your being,
may you walk
gently through the world and know
its beauty all the days of your life.
*

Happy Easter to all

Christ is risen! He is truly risen! Alleluia!

The biblical accounts of Jesus' resurrection highlight the centrality of the Incarnation. For Christians, it is not only the spirit of Jesus that survived death, not only his heart that lived on. He rose bodily. Biblical eyewitnesses tell us that the disciples had an initial difficulty in recognising Jesus who had passed through death. The scars on his hands, his feet, his side were visible to his close friends. His words and actions now had a more significant impact on them, enabling them to appreciate his resurrected state. They were experiencing him in a new way that was so difficult to articulate.

Jesus' wounds, his words, his actions testify to the permanent existence of human life and experience. Nothing is lost. Life with God begins anew, surviving even death itself. Indeed, "life after death" has a strong connnection with "life here and now."

Unfortunately people continue to suffer and to die.

Does it make a difference to those who do not profess Christianity? I think it does. In all our belief systems, death and life are inseparable. With faith and hope, we can all appreciate the Resurrection.

For believers, nothing is more powerful.

Alleluia... Happy Easter to all... Alleluia.

A moment of grace with John-Paul II

25 years ago on Holy Thursday, I was one of 12 whose feet were washed and kissed by Pope John-Paul II at the Basilica of Saint John in the Lateran, Rome. What a terrific moment of grace, of insight, of humility! At the time, I almost hesitated because I was studying for one of my post graduate exams. Today I am glad I went to the service.

The gravity of the event didn't strike me until the ceremony began. The intensity of the celebration was unlike any other Holy Thursday I have ever since experienced. Security was tight at the Basilica where the ceremony is annually performed. The church is always packed during Holy Week. With so much media attention, many in the congregation could barely see this ancient enactment of Jesus.

My own "foot-washing" was a very personal experience between the Pope and I. I felt humbled. Few people want to serve like Jesus. Too many want to be served. We prove our faith by the good we do. What we do to each other, God takes personally. When we catch that "moment of grace" we can recognize the face of God. On a collective level, when we deprive others opportunities, God, I believe, takes it personally as well. We have a tremendous duty. We cannot sit idle.

That "moment of grace" 25 years ago on Holy Thursday changed my perspective as a person, as a man of God, as a Christian.