Regardless of our age, most of us live in a sacrificial manner. As children and youth, we go to school and do our chores. As adults, we work hard both outside of our home and also within our homes for the well-being of those entrusted to us. During the so-called “prime years,” many adults find themselves in the middle. On the one hand, they have children for whom they are responsible. At the same time, they have parents who are advancing in age. In this situation, our parents are no longer able to do many of the things that they used to be able to do. In gratitude for all that our parents have done for us, we rightfully feel that we need to be there for them. As we advance in years, we live in the spirit of sacrifice as we turn over the tasks that we have performed to others.
Living in the spirit of sacrifice is hard when we do not see results of our efforts to put ourselves out for others. It’s also difficult to be faithful to the demands placed upon us when we are taken for granted or worse yet, when we are criticized in an uncharitable manner.
Our Lord Himself lived in a faithful, sacrificial manner. He was rejected by many of his contemporaries. Look at how His Life in this world ended! And yet, He hanged in there in a trusting attitude toward the Heavenly Father to His last breath. His Rising from the Dead expresses the affirmation of the Father for the way that He lived in this world. By His rising from the dead, we are offered the forgiveness of all of our sins. As we make the Lord’s forgiveness of our sins our own, particularly as this is offered to us in a distinctive way in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are set free both to receive and to extend to one another that affirmation for which we yearn and which we gather to celebrate.
Christ’s Rising from the Dead affirms the worthwhile nature of the sacrifices that we make for others, even when what we do is taken for granted and when we don’t see results of our efforts to serve others. By affirming the sacrifices that we make day in and day out, the Lord strengthens and supports us to continue to live in this way. A hoped-for goal of growing into the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and alms giving is that of deepening the bond of our relationships with others, both in general as well as with particular others.
Praying for specific others deepens a bond of affection for those for whom we pray. This can lead to proactive fasting in various ways for their well-being. As we reach out to others as the Lord leads us to do this through prayer, it will become more and more natural for us to put our own wants and even some of our needs on the back burner for the time being. In this setting, we will fast and give financial support to others from a prayer-motivated love for them.
As we take to heart the affirmation that our Lord offers to us for the sacrifices that we make for others, we can appreciate why we display the Cross with our Lord’s Body on it during the Easter Season. The Crucifix expresses our life in this world. Until we die, we are each called to extend Christ’s Sacrifice as we are gifted and equipped to do this. By His Rising from the Dead, the Lord affirms us in all of the sacrifices that we make for others as expressions of our love for Him. Rather than relating to the sacrificial life to which we are called as an ordeal to be endured, we are set free to embrace the sacrificial manner of living in this world as an opportunity to extend our Lord’s redeeming love as we are each uniquely equipped to do this. Have a Blessed Easter!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor