Alleluia! The Lord is risen! He is truly risen! I pray that the unbounded joy of Easter fills your lives this week.
Over the seven weeks of this Easter season, we would like to use this time in the same way Jesus did with the Apostles – to draw near to Him in preparation for going out into the world. Jesus knew the recently traumatized disciples would be sent into all the world to proclaim the gospel at Pentecost. They had the 40 days until His ascension and then the novena of prayer before Pentecost to prepare for this great work.
Something was different about these seven weeks than the previous three and half years. They had received the Holy Spirit in the upper room Easter Sunday evening (John 20:22). They could now understand Jesus and His words in a way they could not in the previous years of being with Him. They could now be more deeply unified with Him than ever before.
So that will be our task these seven weeks – to grow in deep union with Jesus in preparation for bringing the Flame of Love even more powerfully into the world after Pentecost. To do that, we will spend the next many weeks reviewing the Unity Prayer.
Let me leave you with one last thought with a quote from the Diary from Easter Week. From page 209:
Easter Monday
The Spiritual Diary (first edition); Elizabeth Kindelmann; p. 209
Today’s sermon was the best I had heard in my whole life. And while I was thinking about these simple and spontaneous words, the Lord Jesus said:
Jesus: “Do you know why this sermon was so beautiful? Because I flooded the priest with abundant graces. This grace went from him to the faithful in the church. Every eye was filled with tears. The tears flowed and the hearts were moved by the effect of these extraordinary graces. Now, you see the fruits of your sharing in My work of Redemption. For a long time, I have asked you to be the representative of your parish community. And as such, I want to show you the result of My graces which flow from your works united with My merits.”
Remember that what we do makes a difference. It is not just a bunch of words we pray or something for our own spiritual growth. When we provide a refuge for the Flame of Love in our Hearts, we make a difference in our parish. And the more fully we allow that Flame to glow and the more fully we spread it in our parishes, the bigger the difference it will make – inspiring sermons, renewing hearts, blinding Satan. There IS an effect of grace. Our Lady is counting on us to bless our parishes. With her help and the power of grace, let’s make a difference!