| Easter Blessings to you, fellow pilgrims. As we approach the beginning of our third week of the Easter season, walking Christ’s Way of Love through Hope, I pray you’ve had time to reflect upon the gift of Christ’s Grace in our lives. During the Triduum, I asked you to consider how you might identify with the individuals around Jesus as he was arrested, tried, and crucified. How you might also have run, or hidden, or lashed out. How you might also have cried and stayed and prayed, like the women at the foot of the cross. I asked you to consider these things not to incite guilt, but to acknowledge the vulnerabilities of being human and recognize the immense Grace that Christ’s has for us; not because we deserve it, but because he loves us. Christ’s Love and Grace can be difficult to comprehend and perhaps even accept at times. Easter shows us that His love and grace for us are so great that even when we are at our very worst, we always have an open invitation to turn toward Him, to recommit ourselves to Him, and to be embraced by Him. We were created with free will for precisely this. So, what do we do with it—His love and grace? Given that our free will is a testament to Christ’s love and grace for us, I pray that we each use our will to offer that same love and grace to one another. Of course, Easter also shows us that doing so is not easy by any means. Even Christ cried in the garden and had one of his closest companions betray Him. Even Christ had his friends abandon him out of fear and suffered tremendously as people watched and did nothing to help. And—Christ forgave his aggressors, opening the door for them to change their hearts, and repent, and be saved by the very one whom they killed. That is a Love so great that I don’t think I will ever understand it. Even so, I will never stop trying to understand it, and I will always be grateful for it. In all of my humanity, with all of my weaknesses and vulnerabilities, I commit myself to exercising my free will to offer to others the same love and grace that Christ offers me, as best as I am able. And I ask that Christ help me remain mindful of His presence when do so is difficult. I invite you to consider joining me in that faithful endeavor. It won’t be easy, but we can do it together, with Christ. Remember that you are beautiful and you are beloved. In Peace, Love, and Humility, Angela+ |
Christ’s Love and Grace
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