Read this week's message from Father Don
ALLELUIA, CHRIST IS RISEN.
Dear friends,
We all need NEW LIFE. You need it, I need it, and the parish needs it.
Easter is the season for being transformed by the New Life bestowed by the Holy Spirit and the Risen Lord. Over this eight-week period, a great scripture verse to reflect upon is John 10.10: I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.
In our daily lives it is easy to settle into a dull routine of work, household chores, shopping, and occasional amusements. With so many things to do and so little time, we can find ourselves unable to see beyond the end of the week and resign ourselves to weary discouragement. “This is as good as it gets” can become our motto.
Jesus offers a very different view of human life. He speaks of new life, abundant life, eternal life. In countless different ways he offers this message of hope: Behold I come to make all things new (Revelation 21.5); Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and abides in me (John 6).
When Jesus speaks of eternal life, he does not only mean life after death, but a life we can enter into right here and now. Human beings have two kinds of life: a short-term physical life and an enduring spiritual life. We possess the former automatically but the latter, to be fruitful, must be chosen.
A sincere Christian fully enjoys their earthly life but ultimately gives priority to that enduring life of God within them. They seek God’s presence, draw strength from him and call upon him for guidance. The scriptures describe this in various ways…. The Christian must die to themselves (Luke 9.23), to put on Christ (Romans 13.14). They acknowledge themselves to be “in the world, but not of it.” They have been born again of water and the Holy Spirit (John 3). St Paul describes it thus: It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2.20).
Easter is a season for wanting more out of life and for setting our heart on greater things. “Jesus, Risen Lord, I want to grow and be part of the building of your kingdom. Help me to dream, to become fully alive. I want to rise again with you.”
Love,
Father Don
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