Easter Joy

Dearest Ones,

Here we are in the last week of Lent, and the best is yet to come. Don't give up if you don't feel any different or if you can't see any change in yourself. The devil wants you to think it isn't worth trying to be better - that it doesn't make any difference. Don't waste these last few precious days before Easter making him happy or you will miss many graces. We all want to follow a winner. We want to be on the side of the winning team in a ball game. Isn't that right? Jesus looked like such a loser. Most of His friends left him; He appeared to be a fool, but in only three days after his death, He showed who the real winner was! It's the greatest April Fool's joke ever, when the devil is completely defeated and goes scurrying back to hell, while Jesus rises from the grave in a glorified body, just as we all will if we keep following Him. He opened the gates of heaven forever! Some day we will open our eyes in heaven and see for ourselves what God has promised. That is why it is not really sad when a good Christian dies, because he now sees everything he hoped for in this life.

Holy Thursday is the day in which Jesus gives us the best gift of all - His Body and Blood. Most churches have an evening Mass during which volunteers have their feet washed by the priest, in memory of Jesus washing the feet of his best friends, the Apostles. It is a great grace to participate in these devotions and a lasting memory for the children.

Our dear Lord Jesus became the servant of all - even on the night before his terrible agony, when His heart was nearly broken with sorrow and fear, He stooped to wash smelly feet of His Apostles, saying, "Unless you wash one another's feet, you cannot be my follower." We must do this, too. We probably won't literally wash another's feet, but we must serve as Jesus served, visit the sick and imprisoned, wash the dishes, clean the house, do generous acts for those in our workplace and the hundreds of daily chores. Nothing is small in the eyes of Jesus. We don't have to do something extraordinary, just do the little every day things with great love. What we do for others, we do for Jesus.

Good Friday is the saddest day of the year. On this day, we walk with Jesus as He carries His cross in sorrow. The Stations of the Cross often bring tears to my eyes, as it wasn't just a cross of wood He carried on his shoulder; instead, it was my sins. Each of us has our own hidden sorrows deep within our hearts; if we unite our pain with the sorrows of Jesus and Mary, they will help us to bear them. As He hung in pain for three long hours on the cross, He looks ahead to all who will reject Him and lose their souls to hell, despite the chance they have to be saved.

At the Easter Vigil on Saturday night, thousands of Christians all over the world will be received into the Church. What rejoicing there will be in heaven! At Easter services, we have the opportunity to renew our belief in Jesus and all that He stands for, along with renouncing Satan and all he stands for. It is a very bad night for the devil.

What a glorious Church we have, which helps us get to heaven. Jesus left weak human beings in charge of His Church. As a result, mistakes are made and sometimes the wrong people are in charge. We can't let that interfere with our belief in Jesus. We follow Jesus, not a mere human being or a set of rules and regulations. We can't let the mistakes of leaders keep us from saving our souls. Even among Jesus' twelve followers, one betrayed Him and all but one deserted Him, when He needed them most. If tempted to leave an imperfect church, it helps to remember Peter...when many were no longer following Jesus, He asked Peter if he, too, would leave Him and Peter replied, "Lord to whom shall we go?"

If we keep our eyes on Jesus, instead of on humans, we will persevere to the end. It is not ours to judge others, that is God's business. I thank God for the brave men and women who gave their lives so that the teachings of Jesus may be passed on to us. Now, we must pass it on.

We must pray much that we will follow Jesus to the end, no matter what. This won't happen without prayer. I remember you in my prayers every day and at night when I can't sleep. Let's all pray for each other. The reason you and I have faith right now may be due to someone's prayers. Know that you are precious and special to God - He even has you "carved on the palm of His hand!" (Is. 49:15) Remember: we follow a WINNER!

May Easter Joy be yours!
Sister Francelle