"You seek Jesus ... He is not here, for he has risen..."

Happy Belated Easter. 

Isn't it funny to think that Easter is already almost four weeks behind us? It's so easy to get caught up in the buzz of the season, the family functions, food preparation.  The beauty of Easter Sunday is felt, but do we really experience its fullness?  Every year, I tell myself I will slow Easter down - really make it count - but every year it whizzes past without even a glance back.  I feel as if I've totally missed the holiday. But then I realized that Easter is for 40 days.  I have until Pentecost to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ! Everyday is another chance to celebrate Easter! So, I'm going to share with you some of my favorite quotes and thoughts about Jesus rising gloriously from the sepulcher.  

I always love to ponder what the Blessed Virgin was experiencing and feeling.  Consider the joy that filled Mary's Heart when she met the risen Christ on Easter morning!  It's so beautiful to see Mary and Jesus as one.  They are so close - while Jesus was in her womb, their heartbeats were beating as one! George de Rhodes says, "Do you want to know God? Read Mary as you would a book; look at her as you would a mirror; reflect on her as you would a picture."  Every time I read this, I have to stop and ponder it.  We should love Mary, follow her example.  Think of the suffering she endured! Think of the help she can give us! The mother of our God and Savior!

St. Alphonsus Liguori profoundly states that 

"Only an infinite love for man - not nails - could fasten a God to the cross."  

Wow.  Just let that sink in.  God's love for us kept him nailed to the cross.  Even if there had only been one person who needed to be saved, God would have endured it all for only him.  How great His love is.  Do we love him with equal fervor?  Do we give Him time during the day? I like to try and thank Him when I'm especially touched by something beautiful.  The sun peeking through the clouds after a thunderstorm? Thank Him for it! The pair of shoes you wanted and ended up getting on sale? Thank Him! That joy you feel at living? Thank Him! He bestows upon us so much, and we, like the nine lepers, forget to go back and thank Him for the many joys he gives us daily.  "When you receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, thank Him from the bottom of your heart for being so good as to be with you."  (St. JoseMaria Escriva.)

And, last, I want to quote a passage from St. Gregory's Homily on Pascha...

"Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him; yesterday I died with Him; today I am quickened with Him; yesterday I was buried with Him; today I rise with Him. But let us offer to Him Who suffered and rose again for us— you will think perhaps that I am going to say gold, or silver, or woven work or transparent and costly stones, the mere passing material of earth, that remains here below, and is for the most part always possessed by bad men, slaves of the world and of the Prince of the world. Let us offer ourselves, the possession most precious to God, and most fitting; let us give back to the Image what is made after the Image. Let us recognize our Dignity; let us honour our Archetype; let us know the power of the Mystery, and for what Christ died."

Need I say more? I didn't think so! 

So, once again, I want to wish everyone a blessed Easter, because, as we discussed before, we're still in the Paschal Season! Let us celebrate its beauty! :)

God bless!