April 8, 2012
EASTER SUNDAY
Springtime and the equinox: The Masters, Braves baseball, gardening, new life, new growth, warm weather, electricity bills on the rise, outdoor sports, hiking and fishing and swimming and camping, new “Sunday” clothes, sitting on the deck, cutting the grass, bunny rabbits and colored eggs, another holiday.
All these things listed above are good things, and all of them are often included in a secular rendering of “Easter”. The English language name of today’s most solemn and joyful celebration comes from the Anglo-Saxon name of the pagan goddess of the spring. You see, as the Church of Christ spread from Jerusalem to present-day Turkey and Greece and Egypt and Italy, then throughout pagan Europe, Christians used the dates and names of local pagan festivals, re-interpreted them through the lens of the revelation of the Lord God…through the hermeneutic of this past week…the reality of a Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus.
The broad notion of “Easter”, having been secularized from its roots…it gives all a sense of springtime (the equinox) and new life; but the family of Saint Brigid is called to remember what Easter Sunday truly is…the remembrance and liturgical celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord….and our hope for an eternity with God.
So, alongside our secular neighbors, let us enjoy the springtime and all that the spring gives us; but in a living faith, let us go beyond what is seen to what is hoped for…to be transformed into the men and women, the girls and boys we were created to be…happily dependent on God… joyfully obedient to God….the image and likeness of The Lord…just like Jesus.
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The octave of Easter! We celebrate the Day for eight days. Our fasting and penitence is over (for a time). During this Octave…rejoice!
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Our survey has been analyzed by the professionals that created it for us. We hope to offer two “town hall meetings” in Corbett Hall, where Dave Krysiek (founder of Brandwares) will offer us a statistical analysis of the survey’s results. More to follow, on the web-site.
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Please consider filling out an application for membership in the new Pastoral Council of Saint Brigid. We will take all the applications that are received and accepted, and after asking for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we will randomly select ten at-large members for the Council. These ten members plus a staff member and a member of our Finance Council will make up this new Pastoral Council, and will assist me as I hope to pastor our parish family in imitation of the Good Shepherd. The deadline for sending me your application for membership is on the 30th of this month.
AMDG