Browsing Fr. Don Everts articles

WE ARE EASTER PEOPLE AND ALLELUIA IS OUR SONG!

April 4, 2021 

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I ran across an article in my spiritual reading in preparation for Easter from Catholic Sentinel writer Heather Renshaw who
captured Easter so well, I share part of it with you now: 

St. Augustine of Hippo is often credited with saying, “We are an Easter people, and alleluia is our song!” Whether he said it, the
sentiment is true: As Catholic Christians, we profess this belief every time we pray the creed: “I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” We’re affirming our belief that Jesus rose from the dead, and that we have hope of heaven someday.


It isn’t enough to proclaim “alleluia” with our mouths, though, is it? We must also proclaim it in our deeds. Yet how can we practically live out our identity as an Easter people when things aren’t as delightful as a basketful of fluffy baby chicks, as beautiful as lavishly decorated eggs, and as decadent as an endless supply of chocolate bunnies? What if we just don’t feel like praising God? What then?


The secret, I believe, is holding fast to reality – to the Gospel truth we know. Please note that I
didn’t say the truth we feel. Our feelings can and do toss us about like an unmoored boat, yet the Good News of Jesus Christ is unchanging: God is real. He loves us more than we can comprehend. He proved that love by sending his only son to die even while we were still sinners. Jesus Christ rose from the grave, smashing death with the ultimate TKO on Easter Sunday.

We don’t offer up our alleluia to the Lord only when our lives are filled with sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows – we praise God at all times and in all circumstances simply because of who he is and because we belong to him.
Now, how might we live our lives as Easter
people? I suppose it could look like, for example, being grateful rather than grumbling that highly inconvenient flat tire because we surmise our Guardian Angel was helping us avoid a worse wreck down the road. Or maybe being an Easter person looks like loosening my grip on a tenuous economic situation because I choose to believe that God will provide all that my family needs. Whatever the case, I think Easter people live by Romans 8:28. I’ll let you look that one up and see if you agree.


Now, it could be you’re still waiting for resurrection in your life, and singing “alleluia” is the very last thing on your mind. Maybe you’re sitting in the agonizing isolation of the Garden of Gethsemane, wondering when this trial will pass. Or perhaps you’ve seen the empty tomb, but you have no idea where the Lord has gone, and you wonder if he’ll ever return to save you.

I promise you, friend — at some point, the horror of Good Friday shall pass, and the glories of
Easter Sunday will completely transcend and transform the darkness. Your wounds, then

bloodied and mournful, will shine with the healing restoration of our Savior’s merciful love. You will, one day, be able to proclaim with great fervor: “I have seen the LORD! Alleluia!”

Until then, let us find ways to be an Easter people — people of faith, love, and healthy

helpings of glitter paste. Let us sing our hope-filled “alleluia” to a broken and beautiful world in need of a Savior.


Peace and Joy,       
Fr. Don Everts, Pastor 
Holy Cross & St. Katharine Drexel Parishes

 

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