Tag: Easter

Trudging Through Lent (Barely!)

Lent is a dark time for me. Not just because I give up chocolate—and I am addicted to chocolate—but because I try to live in the “desert.” For some reason I get tempted more and everything seems darker. It doesn’t help that spring has not sprung yet and the world is at war this year. Is it just me or do you feel the same?

I have to force myself to look ahead to the end of the desert. Focus on the prize of Jesus rising from the dead after sacrificing his earthly life for us. I know the end of the story but getting there is not easy.

I guess that’s the whole point of Lent. Being starved in that desert for 40 days until the glory of Jesus shines through.

It’s less than 3 weeks till Easter Sunday. These will be 3 tough weeks but the glory of God awaits. I dwell on the prize of the sacrifice of God’s only Son for us and our sins—past, present, and future. That’s worth all the chocolate, dreariness, temptations, and everything else happening in the world.

Hang in there, I tell myself and you. The GLORY and LIGHT of Jesus is coming!

Forgive Yourself First

In this season of Lent, there is a lot of talk about sin and redemption leading up to the Resurrection of Easter. I have learned the hard way that if you want to be forgiven by God, you first need to forgive yourself. You have to acknowledge what you did wrong, have a contrite heart, and then ask for forgiveness. But you always first have to forgive yourself.

Lent ends with Easter and Jesus dying on the Cross and rising from the dead. What Jesus did was take ALL of the sins of mankind—past, present, and future—and let those sins die on the Cross with Jesus’ human body. All sins are gone. If you believe in what Jesus did, you forgive yourself in acknowledging your sin(s), and ask for forgiveness with a contrite heart, your sins are forgiven. But there are no shortcuts.

I know this because I am a great sinner. I screw up all the time. I think it’s just part of being human. But I am getting better at not screwing up by staying as close to God as possible. I’m far from perfect but I try to be.

Take a good read of Psalm 51 where David realizes he screwed up BIG TIME! Read it carefully and meditate on it. Then, start by forgiving yourself. Don’t dwell on your sin(s). Repent and move on. But you have to mean it. You can’t just sluff it off.

Forgive yourself (and others) to be forgiven.

Enjoy the week ahead!

Good Friday Every Day

Good Friday is an enigma. We call it “good” but it is this solemn day of mourning Jesus dying on the cross. I mean, what is “good” about that? And why have I titled this post to imply ever day should be a Good Friday. Here goes.

I think that Good Friday should be a day of reflection, not mourning. We should reflect on Jesus in human form taking all of our sins—past, present, and future—and pinning them to the cross he hung and died on. No wonder the “human” side of Jesus sweated blood in the garden even thinking about the enormity of that task. I don’t think the sweating blood was over the pain, suffering, and death to come. It was the daunting task of taking all that sinfulness and wiping it out.

I don’t think that we should use one day to mourn what Jesus did. I think that every single day we should reflect on what He did and give thanks for it. Not one day. Every day. That’s why I intend to keep Good Friday every day.

Forget about sins of humanity past and to come. There is so much sinfulness in the world today that just wiping those present sins out is a mind-boggling, incomprehensible task. Thank you, Jesus!

Don’t ever forget that your sins—past, present, and future—are forgotten if you reflect on them, repent, and then ask for forgiveness. That’s the message of Good Friday and the message for every day.

Have a wonderful, blessed Easter Sunday. Jesus has risen! Rise up with Him!

He is Risen Every Day

We’re past Easter and the glory of the Resurrection. But Jesus is not past any of it. Because He is Risen every day. In us. If we let Him!

The true glory of Easter is not Easter Sunday but every day. Because Jesus is truly risen every day and in us if we let Him.

What does this all mean? It means that Jesus is in us every day we believe that He is in us. It’s more than a feeling, it’s about the way we live. In LOVE. With every one. After all, Jesus told us that His one commandment to us is to LOVE.

LOVE. It’s truly one of the Real Secrets to Life. We LOVE and Jesus is in us, risen every day.

You don’t have to be a saint to LOVE. It’s starts with a smile, a helping hand, and putting yourself behind others. It’s looking at others and seeing the risen Jesus. It’s not about relighion. It’s about how you live your life.

Enjoy the week ahead with Jesus risen in you!

No Coronavirus Easter

Strange. No Passion, except on TV/internet. Tomorrow, no in-person Mass on Easter Sunday. (We have been “watching” Mass on CatholicTV live from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus—Beautiful!!!). This Lent has been a real desert in terms of isolation. Maybe that has helped us identify with the isolation Jesus felt those 40 days in the desert. Maybe it will help us get out of the deserts in our lives after this crisis is over (and it will be over!!!). For now, we should blossom in what tomorrow represents—the glory of Jesus rising from the dead. There will be no coronavirus in Easter tomorrow!

The Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years before crossing over to the Promised Land. Jesus isolated Himself in the desert for 40 days before His brief 3-year ministry. Many/most of us in the U.S. have now been quarantined in our houses for going on 40 days—some working at home, others out of work. And there are “deserts” everywhere—on the sidewalks, streets, highways, and etc. depending on where you live.

I have tried to use this time, on top of a lot of work at home, to really think about what is important in life. I fly a lot for work. On airplanes and elsewhere I am always in the midst of a lot of people. I spent a lot of time in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill. I can’t count the times I have wanted not to fly for a while, to get away from people, and to really get away from the politicians. Well, I got my wish. Now I want that wish to go away.

I’m fortunate to have the work and position I have. Along with my faith and my family, it’s a gift from God. I know what I do—advocating for patients and cancer care—is a calling. And sometimes I forsake that gift and calling because I focus too much on myself, and not on others.

I’ve done a lot of soul searching during this coronavirus “desert” I have been in this Lent. It’s time to come out and allow the Risen Lord Jesus to rise me up. There will be no coronavirus Easter this year. The isolation will continue for a while then the world will come out of this. And I will come running out of it! Faith, family, work, cause, and doing my little part in making the world a better place. Time for all of us to stop wandering and isolating, and to do our parts in making this world a better place.

Wishing you all a blessed and glorious Easter!!!

Easter Everday

Easter Sunday. The day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter Everyday. Every day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. One is a day event. The other is an everyday event. Jesus rises every day and we rise with Him. More religious mumbo-jumbo? No. Just a different way to live.

I don’t want to stop the glory of Easter. A one day event when the world stops (a bit) for Christians to rest and reflect on the enormity of the sacrifice that God made for us in His Only Son. I want every day to be Easter. We celebrate Easter maybe 70-80 times in our lifetime. I want to celebrate Easter at least 25,550-29,200 times!

How?

Simply by remembering what Easter means. Purpose. Sacrifice. Hope. Glory. And I can think of a lot of other words to describe Easter but I’ll start with those four and how I want to live my life.

Jesus had a God-given purpose in His life. I want to have purpose in my life, not just walking aimlessly through life. I want to understand and realize the special, unique purpose that God has for me.

Jesus sacrificed His life for me. He doesn’t expect me to sacrifice my life (maybe) but He expects me to put others before me. And he commands me to love. Check out John 15:12.

Jesus rising from the death after experiencing a demeaning, terrible death gives hope to the world—and each one of us. I want to live in hope.

If you try, you can feel the glory of God on Easter Sunday. I want to feel that glory each day. It’s easy to get overcome by the darkness in this world. Glory is a bright shining light. There is no darkness in glory.

This may not seem very practical to you; may even seem a little contrived and cute. But it is very practical and real-world to me. You just have to spend a little time thinking about Easter and bringing it into everyday life. Easter Everyday.

Have a GREAT day today! Happy Easter Everyday!

God-less

Sad but true. We are moving forward with less God in our lives. No wonder why this world seems lost and spinning more of of control each day. Less God. That’s really sad!

If you want to see how this plays out, read about Moses and the Israelites in the desert. It took 40 or so years of wondering to travel what should have taken about 11 days. False idols, infighting, and complaining. Sound familiar? The same story that played out thousands of years ago is exactly repeating itself today.

Why? Back then the Israelites turned their backs on God. Fast forward, today we are doing the same thing. Less people in church. More people saying they don’t believe in God and have no “religion.” Lost then. Lost today.

I can tell you that I would be totally lost—maybe even dead—without God in my life. I’m no saint. Far from it. World’s best sinner more like it. But for every step back in the desert I do my best to take 2 steps forward. With God. Everyday with God. Father/Creator, Jesus/Savior, and Spirit/Advocate.

I’m determined not to be lost and wondering in a desert of my life. I’m heading to that Promised Land with God leading the way. Without that, life is truly an endless desert.

Walk forward. Walk with God. Everything becomes clearer in life, especially the path forward. Trust me. Just call out to God to light your way.

Have a glorious, blessed Easter if I don’t sign on before then!

Rise with Jesus!!!

Time to rise, just like Jesus did over 2,000 years ago. What I mean in a very practical sense is to leave any of your old self behind that you don’t like. Then, move forward with your best self. Make a commitment that your “new” self will indeed be your “best” self.

Sure, we all take steps back at times as we move forward on the path of life. Just make sure the steps forward outnumber the steps backwards.

Now is a great time to look at your life, assess, and move forward with a better self. It’s time to rise—just like Jesus did.

Have a wonderful Easter season! 

Do You Recognize Jesus?

Easter’s over. We say that, “Jesus Is Risen!” But do we live Jesus is risen? Are we like the two disciples transfixed talking about Jesus so much that we can’t even recognize Jesus walking with us? Like most you probably say, “Of course, I would recognize Jesus if He were walking with me!” But do you know that Jesus will be walking with you today and I bet you don’t recognize Him at all! Continue reading “Do You Recognize Jesus?”

You’re Nailed to That Cross!

You may think that Jesus was the only person nailed to the cross but you are right there with him. That is, your sins are nailed there as well. And they are your sins so you are nailed as well. The trick is how you get down. Continue reading “You’re Nailed to That Cross!”