Friar’s Corner: Great Easter blessings to you all
Fr. Bob Hilz, TOR
Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:1-49
I rested after the Chrism Mass last Monday in the cathedral. As I awoke I was singing “Come back to me with all your heart.” Then I was thinking about Easter and its great value and meaning. Getting closer to Jesus is to say a little prayer to the Holy Spirit asking for divine light and guidance. Take your New Testament and read what happened on that first Easter day with the women in the early morning at the tomb, the two men on their way to Emmaus and those in the Upper Room on Easter at night.
Put yourself in those gospel stories. What did people see of our risen Lord Jesus? How did he come and go? How was he different? What did Jesus tell his closest followers? If you really take the time to do this, I firmly believe your faith will explode and you will be changed. You will get a “little bit” of the joy the earliest followers had a seeing Jesus transformed.
Compile your own resurrection story
As the week goes on, take each of the 4 gospel stories about the resurrection, put them together. You could write your own one story composite of the events.
Get ready for a shock. Jesus calls us each day to receive him, in our “Bread of Life,” give us this day our daily bread. We get drained in the world when the divine power in us slowly flows out of us to those in need around us. At the end of our day, we can go back to Jesus to get filled up with his grace. What joy we experience as he fills us up and increases our joy.
Divine Mercy
Jesus told many wonderful things to St. Faustina in the 1930s about his great love for us. he gave us a nine-day novena to be prayed from Good Friday until the Saturday before Sunday, the octave of Easter. Jesus called that day Divine Mercy Sunday, which church has extended to the whole world. That novena is so powerful and beautiful. When I finish the nine days I start all over again, all year long. We and the world are in so much need of Jesus’ resurrected power, which he called Divine Mercy or love.
I am lifting all of you up in my prayers during the Easter Season and throughout the year.
Blessings,
+ Fr. Bob Hilz
fbhilz@gmail.com
(© 2019 Fr. Bob Hilz, TOR)
