Isaiah 60:1-3 (from the 1st Reading for The Epiphany of the Lord)
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
—————————
The calendar has turned to January, which marks the beginning of the fourth and final year of the Centenarios we have been celebrating in honor of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis.
In the past three years we have focused in turn on Christmas at Greccio, the Stigmata, and the Canticle of the Creatures. This year our attention moves to the Easter of St. Francis. If you are like me, you felt fairly comfortable at the beginning of each of the previous years. Greccio, Stigmata, and Canticle are familiar words in the Franciscan experience. We were exposed to them during our initial formation and we continue to encounter them regularly as our vocations advance and mature. We had some idea of what to expect as each of these years opened.
For me, the same is not true when I consider the words “the Easter of St. Francis.” I find myself responsible for leading our fraternity through a series of reflections on a topic without having a solid idea of what my subject entails. Until now, I have never heard the end of Francis’ life associated with the word Easter. That’s entirely new for me, which, if I am being honest, I find interesting and compelling. I am looking forward to asking the Holy Spirit to open up this idea for me, and to the new insights and depths He will reveal in the process.
So I need to do some research and gain some familiarity. Which means (once again) that you will be asked to tag along as I delve into material that is of interest to me personally. I hope it will be of interest to you as well.
I find the need to begin with the word “Easter” itself.
—————————
As I am writing, we have just finished celebrating Advent and Christmas. Epiphany was last Sunday and Ordinary Time begins next week. Ash Wednesday is six weeks from today, marking the beginning of Lent. Then come the Holy Triduum, Easter Sunday, and the Easter season culminating in Pentecost.
When I consider the word “Easter,” my immediate reaction is to begin to think about Lent, the Holy Triduum and Easter Sunday. I recognize that there is an Octave and an entire Easter season that follows, but these are the three that immediately resonate with me.
I see Lent as a time of repentance and preparation. As a Franciscan who desires to embrace the idea of Penance thoroughly, Lent is foremost a season of opportunity. If you have learned one thing from me as your Formation Director, I hope you understand that Penance and Poverty are primarily practiced by reorienting our lives in such a way that God becomes our dominant focus. When we practice Penance according to the Franciscan understanding, it means we consciously and deliberately turn our attention away from the world and toward God. Worldly concern diminishes as we focus on the singular Truth that must define our sojourn through this earthly life: God loves us so completely that He sent (and continues to send) His only Son to us in the flesh to open wide our pathway to salvation. Lent asks us to embrace an attitude of Penance and then focus our attention on this Truth fully. An intensified practice of Poverty is a natural corollary to that effort.
The Holy Triduum is then the culmination of God’s sending. Our Lenten journey prepares us to prayerfully enter the crescendo of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Hopefully, we do this not from a historical perspective and distance, but instead as full participants. The goal is to make ourselves completely and actually present as these events unfold. We trust the Holy Spirit to enable our experience to be direct, not remote.
He places us in the room as Jesus ordains and establishes the Eucharist, allowing His coming to be perpetual. The Spirit walks with us as we accompany Jesus and the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. He abides with us as we keep watch with Jesus, witness to Him agonizing over and then unconditionally accepting the Father’s Will. The Spirit makes us fully present as Jesus is arrested, questioned, led before Pilate, scourged and ultimately condemned. As Jesus shoulders the burden of the Cross on the way to Golgotha, the Spirit inspires us. We long to wipe the face of Jesus in place of Veronica and to assume the role of Simon of Cyrene. The Spirit places us at the foot of the Cross next to John and Mary as Jesus speaks to them. Finally, we will be there, the Holy Spirit still at our side, as Jesus relinquishes His Spirit to the Father.
As the Passion unfolds, I become more and more acutely aware of the effects of sin. I recognize my own depravity and wickedness in the sins of Judas, the sleeping apostles, the temple guards, the High Priest, the Pharisees, Peter, Pilate, Herod, the Roman soldiers and the Jewish crowd. I have a share of responsibility in the suffering that I am witnessing. This recognition calls me, even forces me, to become truly repentant.
Standing at the foot of the Cross, sorrowful at my own impiety and compelled by the ever present Holy Spirit, I look into the eyes of Jesus. He looks back and I am captivated. He holds me in His gaze and at first I am content to be held. The moment passes out of time and His Divine Patience is revealed. He is waiting for me. A spark of understanding is supplied by the Spirit. I know what I must do. Humbled beyond the possibility of description, I confess. Instead of the condemnation I expect and deserve, He responds with incomprehensible Love. Even in the midst of His suffering, Jesus shows me the same Mercy He shows Dismas. Somehow, beyond all expectation and hope, His Love proves itself so boundless that He grants me forgiveness and reconciliation. How is this possible! How is it possible that, despite my overwhelming sinfulness, God Loves me so much that He willingly endures the Cross for me that I might be saved!
I wander away dumbstruck. I blindly follow the disciples back to where they are staying, oblivious to everything around me, consumed by the remembrance of the overwhelming and prodigious Love I have experienced. I do not sleep, but I am also unaware of the passing time. I feel the Spirit embrace me, still present, watching over me.
Then, on Easter morning, there is a disturbance. I am unsure what is happening, but I follow the disciples as they rush to the tomb.
Coming out of my stupor, I recognize that there is something different about this morning. I realize that Glory is in the air. I feel the presence of the Spirit at my side, His Radiance so intense that I am buffeted by the Light emanating from Him. I turn to face Him, and I experience Grace and Revelation.
I know, deep in my heart, in the place where God continually abides, that all of scripture has been realized. The Light so prevalent in the readings for the Epiphany stands fulfilled. The Light of Advent and the Christmas season, the Light prophesied by Isaiah, the Light symbolized by the Star of Bethlehem, the Light proclaimed by John at the opening of his gospel, has proven itself indomitable and unconquerable.
The prophecy of the Canticle of Zechariah is accomplished. The “mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David” has “saved us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us.” “In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high has broken upon us, shining on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, guiding our feet into the way of peace.” Jesus has made me, at least for a moment, “free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of my life.”
By forgiving me and assuring me of the possibility of salvation, He has prepared me for Easter day! He has made me ready to celebrate His triumph over the forces of evil, sin, death and despair. He has called me to rejoice with Him and all the choirs of Heaven!
I believe He is the Messiah! Into His Hands I commend my spirit!
The Word has come into the world and fulfilled Destiny. He has opened the way to redemption for me. I know I am human. I know I will falter. But I also know His Mercy stands ready to forgive me again and again, and as long as I continue to seek His forgiveness and acknowledge His Truth, then I can truly be “free to worship Him without fear” as Zechariah suggests.
He has made my hope for eternal salvation possible! This is the victory of Easter!
- Perhaps you weren’t quite ready to jump from Christmas to Easter, but Lent will be here before we know it. I had no idea what I was going to write when I started. I just knew that the idea of the Easter of St. Francis was foreign to me. So I began to contemplate Easter and the Spirit gave me what I have shared above. I was shocked when I went back to reread and polish this. There is no way this could come from me. It has to fully be the Spirit.
- Often it feels like the Spirit is the forgotten third of the Trinity. How much is the Spirit a part of your day-to-day life? Do you seek Him out intentionally? Does He ever shock you with an unexpected revelation as He did me here? As you move toward Lent, the Holy Triduum, and Easter, do you think you might be more fully aware of the power He has to guide and inspire you? And the power He has to make your experience through those Holy Days much more powerful and meaningful? Will you ask Him for these gifts? Will you rely on Him to open new ideas and depths for you?
OFS Ongoing 