Lord Jesus, You are God; praised be Jesus Christ!

It is Easter brothers and sisters! Let us rejoice fully in the Resurrection of our Lord, taking it to heart that indeed the tomb was empty, indeed our Lord has defeated death and sin once and for all, indeed He is risen!

Today at Mass, the readings reminded me of the faithfulness and constancy of God. Truly. I mean, although it’s not uncommon to hear people say (yes, even Christians) that “New Testament” God, is a 180 from “Old Testament” God, as if God had a huge change. I’ll admit, I’m guilty of having said this too. However, brothers ans sisters, this is false. Our God has always been Love and Mercy. Yes, He was harsh in the Old Testament, but only in His Divine Justice was He so. Do not think that you are dealing with a God who thinks everything is okay now. The Passion and death of our Lord are not license to sin, but freedomfromsin. Why do you think we must go to Confession? Why do you think that we have the Chaplet of Divine Mercy? Our God is the same, He is constant, He is loving, He is faithful, He expects us to love Him and our love for Him is shown through our repudiation of sin and in giving ourselves entirely over to Him.

The face of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the light necessary to illuminate the darkness of the world, and we must be His face to all by making our lives continuous testaments to His love and aligning them as much as possible with the Will the Father. We cannot let the world dampen the flame of our ardency for living out the faith in Truth and Love, for of these things were you made, and for them your heart and the hearts of all the world so long.  Persist in the face of discouragement, for it is written,

“(5) And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority…(6)it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven (7) Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them,” 

-Revelation 13:5-7

Although this refers ostensibly to the plight of the early Christians, God made sure that what His Apostles wrote down wouldn’t ever be irrelevant, and therefore we too can take a message from this (for such is the beauty of Scripture!): that even when everything seems to be going against us, we must know that all is from God, and that the end of all things is Him. Therefore, if we persist in serving Him, we will experience at times, what looks and feels like a defeat to those who do not know Him, yet we know better. We know that from what to all others appears as defeat, our God draws many to beauty and life, and what are those other than Himself? Our Salvation has been assured us, the triumph of Good over Evil has been promised us, and that assurance and that promise are worth our entire lives.

Therefore, when we devote our lives to Christ, we must be sure to prepare ourselves for all of these things, the good and the bad; but let absolutely nothing, keep us from being Christ to the world.

Ave Crux, Spes Unica!

A.M.D.G.

- A Prayer before our Lord in the Eucharist

The Rosary is not static; a litany of vainly repeated prayers without substance. In fact, it is the exemplar of dynamic prayer, for if one prays it properly, they are brought more and more deeply into the Mysteries of the life of Christ. His birth and the joy that comes along with His arrival on earth and the accompanies His entire time here. The wonderful moments where His divinity was illumined through the Grace of the Father and glories of Heaven. The sadness and sorrow of the Passion and Death He endured for us, the agonizing sharpness of the skull-piercing thorns, the weight of the Cross and the unseen weight of the sin of the world. Then, finally, the Glorious Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven! The arrival on earth of the Paraclete, who proceeds from the Father and the Son (and yes, He is worshipped and glorified with Them as well) and also the Assumption of the Mother of God and all who believe in Him through her Son Jesus Christ, and the Coronation of the most beautiful Mother.

This prayer never ages. It is always and forever alive, for the Love, Truth, mercy, wonder and glory of God is forever, and the Rosary is a prayer of just that.

Blessed be God forever!