School closes this week for the first holidays of the year and when it reopens, Easter will have been and, one could be tempted to think, gone without making a difference. We easily get into a rut with our faith, not realising just how deeply the presence of Jesus Christ has gone down into our being and transformed us to a new way of engaging with other people and our world. ‘Me, changed?’ I can hear you asking. Yes, let us look at the ways.
As Christians we believe:
That good can come out of bad. The power Jesus gave in defeating death is given to us. We are not defined or confined by the bad things that happen to us. We can turn them to good.
That prayer really makes a difference. The good desires I have for others can be offered to God and sent to surround and care for them – even if they are on the other side of the world.
That forgiveness is not only possible but desirable. When we hear stories of people who have forgiven those who have wronged them, we understand, we get it – even if we feel it might be beyond us.
That virtue is something for which we should work and strive. Yes, we want to be better because we believe we have been made for that.
These are the subtle ways, Jesus Christ is alive in you. Let yourself be surprised this Easter by recognising and appreciating the new divine life that is rising in your hearts.
Loving God, my faith can seem so ordinary at times that I think it has little effect on me. Let me realise how the Holy Spirit is alive within me allowing the life of Jesus to rise in my heart and in my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.
Sr Kym Harris osb