Checking in during Holy Week

You may have noticed, friends, that it is Holy Week. How was your Palm Sunday? How is it Easter already?

I have a few recommendations for this week. One, watch The Passion of the Christ on Friday, and Jesus of Nazareth on Saturday. Bake something Saturday, also. Attend the Easter Vigil Mass if you can, because you will get so much more out of it.

Pray in a special way this week for people who are lost. The faith has been, in addition to salvation, both an anchor and a compass for me, and if I did not have it, I am not sure how the past few years would have gone. I think about all the things coming at normal humans these days, from every side, and it is especially hard for those who do not have the perspective of eternity. I do not say that to be snooty, I say that because it is true. As humans, we long for eternity, even when we cannot put a name to it like that. Easter is a time for light entering into the darkness. It is a time for light to enter into hearts in a transformative way. May this Easter be yet another change, but a good one, a welcome one, that includes a level of acceptance, too. And a remembrance that God is in control, Jesus is King, no matter what happens, for ever and ever, amen.

Audio from my Morning Air interview

The audio from my conversation with Morning Air’s John Morales is up! Catch the audio here, and my portion starts at 06:55.

We talked the concept generally of creating peace, but also moved into a discussion of everyone’s calling to be with God in prayer, and discern where he is calling us. I also made a point of mentioning something from my article, Creating Peace in Your Corner of the World, which is that creating peace is not just the domain of those specifically trained diplomats working in international relations, but the purview of each one of us. I find I often talk about the job or work of a lay Catholic in pretty strong terms - as in, it is a critical part of your calling is to evangelize - because I believe it with my whole heart! And, I believe it to be true. Nothing negotiable about it.

Enjoy!

Catch me on Relevant Radio tomorrow morning at 7:10 am ET

I’ll be joining John Morales on Morning Air radio tomorrow morning, Wednesday, April 6, at 7:10 am eastern. I’ll be discussing my latest article, Creating Peace in Your Corner of the World, and you can listen live on your mobile device or computer in the player here. You can also download the Relevant Radio app, or check your local radio station listing here. Thanks for listening!

My next article is going to be a reflection on participating as a lay leader in the current synodal listening sessions. I was the facilitator for my parish’s three sessions a couple weeks ago, and have a few observations on the preparation, the listening sessions themselves, the feedback we received, and the area I feel we overlooked. Spoiler alert: on the topic of communication, everyone agreed “The Church needs a PR person.” But, no one mentioned how lacking the Church has been in communicating to lay Catholics that by virtue of their baptism, every Catholic is called to evangelize. No exceptions!

Whereas some lament the lack of resources, I think resources are abundant. Word on Fire Institute, Catholic Answers, etc, etc. It is more that most Catholics don’t know there is something they should be doing. Why did the Church stop teaching this, or was it ever taught? Is there an answer? I do not know. But, I want to explore it.

Next week is Holy Week. Wow! I look forward to the return of all those Holy Week traditions: the feet washing, the Mass of the Lord’s supper followed by the grief and stillness of Good Friday, the hopefulness of Holy Saturday, and of course, the feast and triumph of Easter Sunday. This Sunday, look forward to holding palms - for some people, maybe the first time in two years - and praise God for his closeness to his people.