Alleluia! It’s True!

(Inspired by the Easter Gospel readings)

Tentative
Could it be?
Dare I trust?
Dare we risk?
We had hoped for so long
Have felt betrayed and
done our share of betraying
And yet
it could be true
They say they saw him
And they are glowing
They are different somehow
not cowering like the rest of us
They know
They don’t just believe
They know
I can see it
They know in their bones
He is alive
Angels spoke to them
She saw him at the tomb
and he sent her to us
They actually broke bread with him
Could it be?
It is all coming together
Everything he said that sounded so crazy
now is falling into place

And, wait, who is that coming into our room?
How did he get in here –
the door is closed
He looks so familiar
and yet I cannot place him
The marks
Those terrible, awful nail marks
It is him
He is eating, drinking
smiling at us
He is alive as they said

O God of our ancestors
You have raised him
Alleluia
It is true
Now I know

And now that I know
I have to leave this safe room
No, I want to leave this safe, closed room
I want to share this news
The nails didn’t do it
The shameful crucifixion didn’t destroy him
And all that is death dealing
in our world
cannot destroy us
We are on the side of
the one who was raised from the dead
And he has called us to go forth
And has given us a Word of life to preach
to a hurting world
Death does not have the final power
Hope and life remain
Resurrection happens
I know it now
I
Know
Amen
Alleluia

Sister Lorraine Réaume, OP

By Sister Patty Harvat, OP

Have you ever had the experience of unexpectedly meeting someone that you hadn’t seen in years? They say, “I think I know you!” and you say, “Really?”

During this season of Lent, God says to us, “I think I know you.” and “Return to me with all your heart.” (Joel 2:12)

Jesus looks at us deeply and with such longing and says, “I’d love to catch up with you. Got some time?”

This is the acceptable time; the acceptable time to deepen our experience of God and of our inmost selves. It is the time to allow God to help us to come to Easter in even deeper relationship than when Lent started. All of us enter into Lent acknowledging and accepting who we are while preparing to become more, because that is what God empowers us to be: MORE.

To become more. Was that what the Father was asking of his son in the Garden of Gethsemane? “My soul is sorrowful unto death.” God, it’s been a lonely year: transition, health problems, friends and family members dying, lack of civility in our society, family issues. What is the MORE God asks of us?

Listen to Jesus say to you each day, “I think I know you.” In his January 10, 2018, general audience, Pope Francis said, “Silence is not confined to the absence of words, but rather to preparing oneself to listen to other voices: the one in our heart and, above all, the voice of the Holy Spirit.”

A variety of prayer experiences will provide us with different ways to respond to Jesus: the silent contemplative prayer, the Stations of the Cross, the various liturgies and expressions of spirituality. Journal and observe how you were with God or how you weren’t. Record what you notice.

This is the acceptable time to return to God with all your heart. And to say to God, “Yes, you do know me and I have come to know you in a new and deeper way.”

"Washing of Foot" by John Ragal

Several years ago, I was at a meeting that had several different religious traditions represented. People were invited to conduct a prayer service that would help the others learn about that faith. A Catholic Deacon decided to do a foot washing service.

I can still remember the silence, the sense of holiness, and the tears gently running down the cheeks of those who had never experienced this ritual before – they saw this man slowly pore water over their feet, cup the water and use it to bathe them, softly dry their feet, and end by giving a kiss to each foot. 

This gesture requires trust and vulnerability on the part of the recipient and generosity and care on the part of the giver. We think of Pope Francis washing the feet of inmates. I recall a friend who used to wash feet at a homeless shelter. It is an intimate moment. It shows in a visceral way how Christ asks us to love one another – both in the giving and in the receiving.

In a way, the paths we choose, in our relationships and in our ministries, are a response to the question: “Whose feet will you wash?” What is your life’s response to this question?

Easter blessings,

Sister Lorraine