CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, BY DEATH HE CONQUERED DEATH & TO ALL IN THE GRAVES HE GRANTED LIFE!

As a child, this is the song that I sang on Easter morning.  In the Byzantine Catholic church, we sang this over and over again for 40 days until we celebrated Pentecost.

Today is truly a day to celebrate. Today marks the most important day in history.  As Catholic’s, we believe our salvation has two parts.  First, Jesus had to die; and that is why our crosses have the crucified body of Jesus on them. But then He rose again after spending three days in the grave.  The devil has lost.  Now, souls have to come to Satan to be away from God.  Now man has hope.  Mankind has been washed by the blood of the spotless Lamb, Jesus the Christ.  The gates of heaven have been opened and salvation has been won.  The gift of salvation is available to all who believe, repent of their sins, and walk the path of life.

One of the most striking scenes in the movie The Passion is that Jesus embraced the cross as He carried it to Calvary.  The human Jesus struggled as He cried to the Father that He had been forsaken.  But immediately the cry of abandonment was followed by the words that set us free, “But not My will, but yours!  I believe that Jesus knew that by His surrender and suffering, there would be victory.  He knew that His work would continue as He descended into Hell.  He knew that He would rise on the third day.  He embraced the cross knowing that He would be lifted up from the grave.  He knew that He would sit again at the right hand of the Father.  The God of Jesus truly missed being with the Father in heaven.  Jesus knew His entire mission.

Our mission is similar.  We also have the promise of seeing the face of God.  We too have the prospect of spending eternity in the presence of the Father.  This GIFT is not earned.  This GIFT is freely given to us who do not turn away from and reject the Holy Spirit.  As Catholics, we believe that if we die before we have worked out all of the “issues” of sin we struggle with; we still have a place to work those out.  Purgatory is part of heaven.  Purgatory is part of the love that our Triune God has for us.  We are called to be saints and for us who struggle with what that entails, we are given a final chance to work them out after passing from this world.

Our God is an awesome God; He reigns from heaven above, with wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God.  Sing out today the joy of our salvation.  If there is struggle in your life with sin; do as the blessing on Ash Wednesday; Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.  Take advantage of the sacraments.  Go to confession on a monthly basis. Better yet, find a confessor and make the sacrament of reconciliation an important part of your life.  Receive the Eucharist; the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of God with a pure and contrite heart.  Pray daily.  Give God at least 22 minutes each day.  Seek spiritual direction.  Rejoice in your Baptism.  Embrace your confirmation.  Treat your marriage as a sacrament & for those who are single, embrace the chastity of celibate life.  Pray for our priests.  Honor those whom we love that are dying by visiting the sick and praying often for them.

Will of the Father Ministries is moving forward.  Dan is ready to burst with his desire to lead us all in praise of our Risen Lord.  I am putting to paper the talks my Lord has inspired me to give.  God willing, our revival has begun.  Please pray that this ministry will rise and be on its way to teaching God’s people about His will for them.  In the meantime, break out your Bibles and get ready.

God is good all the time – All the time, God is GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!d

May the peace of our risen Lord be with all of you!

Your brother in Christ,
Michael

& HAPPY EASTER!