Easter - a time of mystery

Easter. A time of mystery. A time when light shines, and we see things differently. It comes from the darkness of the Passion, from suffering, and from not knowing. It is true, that I appreciate light more when I have experienced darkness. That I appreciate resurrection better when I have known suffering.

John Shea speaks to this in his book Story of God, where he quotes Kazantzakis's description of mystery. It is, he says, the luminous interval between two darknesses. He then notes that when the reliability of all we have constructed is brought into question, we enter the dimension of Mystery (25).

In our desire to know, to be in the light, we forget that unknowing can contain something positive and fulfilling. This is the difference between faith, and having a vague spirituality with no particular beliefs.

This is not an attempt to put a good spin on pain and injustice, emotional distress and suffering. Rather, it is how we make sense of it. For as much as we don't like to admit it, we do not find the depth of our soul until our world falls apart. That experience helps us realize that what has up till now proven good enough is no longer sufficient, and we seek something better.

Shea speaks at some length about the need for our ready answers and expectations to fail. He says Disenchantment is a traditional and well-established path to the awareness of Mystery...the beginning of mature religious consciousness (28-29). Shea's statement is obvious: I suspect every one of us can look back over the times in our lives when we entered into a new spiritual consciousness, and can track it to some form of disenchantment we experienced.

Mystery. It is not something to be feared, but something that invites us to enter more deeply. And only after we enter, do we discover.

And isn't that what Easter is all about?

Signs that carry Divinity

On this Holy Thursday, we cannot help but think of signs.  Give us a sign they would ask of Jesus (Mt 12:38). Don’t we all ask that of God at one time or another? Don’t we all want some sign of God's care? 

If we read the gospels carefully, we will see that we are our own signs of God. And I believe one way we are that sign is through the act of forgiving. As Jesus told his disciples, we are not to forgive “seven times seven, but seventy times seven” (Mt 18: 22). And anyone who has ever been hurt or betrayed knows how hard it is to forgive.

I think forgiveness is a sign of the Divine Presence because it requires great faith. In effect it says, I have come to terms with my own vulnerability. I have accepted my limitations, I have acknowledged my own mess ups. When I have accepted my human condition, I will not be afraid to accept the limitations of others.

For are we not afraid of vulnerability? And is that not what forgiveness is all about? 

When I face this truth, I am able to give to others that which is given to me. I offer faith in a Divine Being because I am able to acknowledges that when we are frail, we must turn to hope and faith. We must not be afraid of vulnerability. Forgiveness is an act that rejects the notion that I am secure. It rejects the fallacy that it is possible to be perfect.

Psychologists and counselors tell us, forgiveness is not only good, but necessary for our mental health. Jesus would tell us, forgiveness is good for our peace of mind. It is good for our soul. It is good for our hearts. To forgive is to acknowledge my own human status. It is to accept that I am not the only one who does not get it right all the time. It is to have the gentle heart and the open eyes that say, yea, we are all in this together.

So let us go forward. Let us be signs of God. 

Returning to an old frame of mind

If there is one word that seems to have fall to the side, it might be the word Sacrifice. It seems to be the forgotten virtue.

It used to be an expected part of every day life. It used to be the cost of success. It used to be the expected part of a spiritual life.

Now, it seems even our spirituality tends toward the attitude of what's in it for me? And that attitude is always taking, always wanting, always looking for more. 

Sacrifice is about what I am willing to give. Sacrifice teaches me even as it strengthens me.

Because it is a frame of mind. It is me looking for a way to return some of the good that has been handed on to me. Sacrifice is, in effect, gratitude.

Psalm 116:12 says, How shall I repay the Lord for all the good done for me? In verse 17, the psalmists answers, I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.

Good thoughts. Good advice. 

Finding more in scripture

By Sr. Mary Grace Thul, OP

Scripture can offer us many things: wonderful quotes, moving stories, and powerful examples of how to live. But there is one more thing scripture offers us: a person hidden within.

Jesus is amazing in his failure to fit the image people had for him. He did not come off as the typical carpenter's son. Nor did he act like the savior of the world. No wonder people were confused. Jesus as a person was totally unscripted, without a formula, and with no predictability.



That is because Jesus was a man on a mission. But what was that mission? It is recorded that he walked countless miles, endured privations, cold nights, and endless crowds in an effort to get his message across.

And yet, that was not Jesus ultimate goal. His goal, if you read scripture carefully, was people. It is recorded that every time Jesus was as being interrupted by those who wanted concrete help, he stopped to offer compassion. Whether it was a leper begging for a cure, a women seeking help who had been outcast in her society, or a child dying, Jesus stopped whatever he was doing to attend to the real physical need of those around him.

Not only did Jesus stop, he did not always wait to be asked. He let his humanity bring his compassion to another by touch, by power going out from the hem of his garment, by curing the withered arm while his detractors watched to accuse him.



This is the Jesus I want to discover. This is the part of scripture that gives me power. For it teaches me to also bring compassion to another through a touch, a thought, a hug.


And what better way can I spend Holy Week?

There would be diminution

Probably the question most common to all ages is the question of evil. I have my own theories, about the power of free will and its effects on others; God's ability to bring good from it all. So, I was intrigued when I read Anscar Vonier's words: It is a certain truth that if God in his providence exterminated every evil deed at once, killed every evil-doer, the final sum of goodness would be less. We have our Lord's own words for it; there would be diminution.

Vonier’s words are startling. He isn’t just hinting that having only good in our lives would bring us little. He is saying, that without the choice, without evil in our world, we would be less. He believes this because there is the fact--an absolute certainty, goodness inevitably produces goodness; it is unconquerable, it cannot be stifled, it has greater ramifications than evil can ever have...

Perhaps we concentrate too much on the question of evil, and forget the power of goodness. And yet, we all know, light means more when you have known darkness, hope holds more power when you've experienced the heaviness of despair. The list goes on and on...

When I have a choice, my choice empowers. The same goes for good and evil. My choice of good is more powerful than the evil that beckons. And making that choice reaches out to empower all who are seeking good.