SEASONAL
REFLECTION
Seasonal Reflection:
Easter 2021
by Rosemarie Pace
This is the day God has made; let us rejoice and be glad!
It’s the Easter season, not just a day, but a season, a season to rejoice and be glad! The season of Lent, of sacrifice and repentance, has ended. New life is blooming all around us. The pandemic is waning; more and more vaccines are reaching more and more people. Jesus is raised. Death has been conquered. Light has replaced darkness. Alleluia!
But do you believe? The Resurrection is a mystery that requires belief, even if without clear understanding. We know there is still death. There is still covid-19. We still need to sacrifice and repent, and therein lies our small resurrections. Each time we forgive, each time we restore a relationship, each time we reach out and raise up one another, we get a taste of resurrection. The Easter season is seven weeks long. Let’s make it a season of on-going resurrections, and let’s rejoice and be glad as we do so.
Joyous, Blessed Easter not just for a day, but for a full season!
Prayer to the Restorer of Entombed Vitality
Awakened One
source of inner power
restorer of tombed
vitality giver of graced gusto
you who have been raised
from the cold stone of death
come and resurrect me
from my own entombment
repair what has weakened
in my spiritual endeavors
revive my mildewed
cobwebbed relationships
lift up my waning hope
when I wail with the world’s pain
restore my sense of oneness
with all of your creation
refresh my daily call
to embrace the sacred
to find you in every gesture
that dances with your heart
push back the stone
of self-centeredness
untomb my generosity
renew my dedication
raise up my dilapidated dreams
restore my ancient union
resuscitate my burning desire
re-establish my priorities
so you become the center
of al I am and all I do
~~Joyce Rupp in out of the ordinary: prayers, poems, and reflections for every season, Ave Maria Press, 2000
Suggested Actions
Reflect on Jesus’s Resurrection. What do you really think about it, feel about it? Is it real to you? Explore what others have written about it. You can find various interpretations on the web and in books on scripture and theology.
Reflect on the resurrections in your life and your environment. How do they help you with Jesus’s Resurrection? If you need help, review the prayer above by Joyce Rupp. Perhaps you’ve experienced a spiritual awakening or a repaired relationship, a reason to hope or a sense of wonder at creation, an urge to give or a restored desire to serve, a renewed sense of belonging or a newfound faith in God. Perhaps resurrection has come to you in some other way. Embrace it. Celebrate it, and use it to grow into the ultimate Resurrection.
Where you feel need for resurrection, pray, share with others who feel a similar need, and, together or separately, simply choose one activity that might help satisfy that need. It might be a physical exercise, an art project, a book to read, a group to join, a story to write, a call to make, a party to plan, a cake to bake, a demonstration to join. Aim for what lifts you up, and give it back to God.
Stay on top of what’s happening through PCMNY’s email action alert network and online at our website, Facebook page, and Twitter account. Especially, help us celebrate peacemakers on Saturday afternoon,May 22nd, via Zoom. Check back for registration information coming soon.
Contact
Pax Christi Metro New York
371 Sixth Avenue,
New York, NY 10014
212-420-0250 (p); 212-420-1628 (fax)
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