WORD ALIVE
FR. BEL SAN LUIS, SVD
What's the meaning of life? Is it meant to be nothing but a vain struggle for a modicum of joy and satisfaction terminated by death? In the words of St. Paul, are we here in this world to "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die"?
Jesus, by his resurrection, shows us that life is not a meaningless puzzle that ends in death. There’s life after death. And even if he conquered our sins, he expects us to strive always to overcome our human weaknesses even if it should take a lifetime.
Moreover, Christ’s rising from death is the Father’s seal of approval on his life and work. As St. Paul puts it, “If Christ has not risen, in vain is our preaching and your believing in it” (Read 1 Cor 15,13).
Easter is not just a remembrance or re-enactment of something that happened 2000 years ago but is something PRESENT.
The death of Christ, for example, should teach and induce us to die to our old self. Thus, the man who struggles to give up drinking, gambling, womanizing, and other vices exemplifies Christ’s rising to a new life.
Moreover in the family, there is the challenge to rise to a new life. For an estranged couple, for instance, it can mean rising from the depth of their problem and starting all over again.
"You mean, I should forget everything--all the cheating, the womanizing my husband has done in the past?" an aggrieved wife might say.
Yes. If the offending spouse is sincerely sorry and wants to start anew, then Christian forgiveness is demanded, in the very spirit that Christ forgave his enemies on the cross.
Like Christ, all of us have our own Calvary, our passion and death. But like the Redeemer, we too will know and feel the beauty, the joy of the Resurrection, if we but live it in the spirit of Christ.
Lest we forget, the life of every follower of the Risen Christ should be animated by the spirit of joy, optimism and hope.
Pope Francis said, “They think that being Christian means being in perpetual mourning.” The jovial Pope adds that “an ambassador for the faith must never look like someone who’s just come back from a funeral.”
A sense of humor does not mean you’re always cracking jokes.
It means that no matter how serious your problem may be, you do not lose hope, confident that somehow God will see you through.
There’s another side in resolving our problems—and that’s OUR side. As the great Saint Augustine puts it: “Work as if everything depended on you and pray as if everything depended on God.” * * *
Easter laughs. Did you know that the people to whom the Risen Lord first appeared were women? (Mt 28,1).
Answer: Jesus knew the innate ability of women to spread news fast.
As somebody said, "If you want your message to travel fast, send through a telephone, if you want it faster, send by cell phone; if you want it the fastest, TELE-woman!"
That’s not always the case though. Some men can spread “tsismis” faster.
Did you know that Jesus’ tomb was borrowed from a wealthy Jew named Joseph of Arimathea? And why He rose on the third day (Sunday)?
Answer: Since the grave was borrowed only for the weekend, Jesus had to vacate it otherwise He would have been evicted!
Of course, that was not the real reason. Rather He wanted to prove that everything He said was true.
A man was caught kissing a nun. He explained that he was merely embracing Holy Mother Church?
Happy Easter!