As I write this article, I realize we will not be together at Easter and you will be reading this article online and not in the paper bulletin! It feels so strange but all of Lent this year has been strange with the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic. The Shelter in Place order has required all of us to remain at home for everything but essential duties. As the coronavirus wreaks havoc on our personal and professional lives, it devastates our economy and it will take us a long time to recover. It has been a surreal time for all of us and we desperately seeking a new normal inside our shelter-in-place routine.

This brings with it some significant challenges on a personal level as we lose control of so many boundaries. Many of us have lost the discipline of balance so hard fought between work and home lives, between personal and professional, between work and play, rest and pray. We find ourselves taking back-to-back Zoom calls to keep up “work from home” not realizing that we are now working longer and harder than we ever before. Our days seem to speed along and we often forget to take a shower! Yes, these are crazy times indeed. Now more than ever we need a spiritual lift. Now more than ever do we need EASTER and the message of Christ being with us always till the end of time.

I must confess that it has been heart-breaking to celebrate Mass each Sunday alone in our big Church. I miss you all so much! The idea that I celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass alone is horrifying to me. When normally we get 2,000 people to Mass on a regular Sunday, on Easter we attract over 5,000. Today it will be 6 people gathering at Mass. Two lectors, one cantor, one musician, Fr. Edgar and myself! I miss you all so dearly and I know you miss coming to Church yourselves. It has been hard for all of us.

But the message of Easter never is more important to hear. Christ is Risen means that his resurrection is the ultimate victory over sin, hatred and death. When God became human in Jesus Christ, he was not trying to change his mind about humanity but change humanity’s mind about God. He took on the human condition not to coerce or manipulate the heart of humans but rather as witness to his true nature; that he is a God of love. We need to hear that message now and every day while we Shelter in Place. We need to know that God is with us whenever and wherever we are. Whether we are alone or jammed together in a house full of people. Whether we are sick or well. Whether we are okay with the shelter in place order or whether we are consumed with anxiety. Whether we are still working or whether we just lost our job. God is with us now more than ever and he loves us exactly where we are now.

The ultimate message of Easter is that love wins. The bitterness, anger, jealousy, cursing, fear, sin and hatred is replaced by graciousness, kindness, gentleness, blessing, trust, forgiveness, and love. Jesus Christ. We are called to live the resurrection by acting like Jesus today in our place.

That is what Christ did. He took in all the ugliness of the world and gave back beauty and love. We are called to do the same.

That is what Easter is all about. We are called to transform our world by imitating The only way we are going to be able to do that is by first experiencing the risen Christ in our own lives, by experiencing his love in our hearts.

The older I get, the more I am convinced that while most people believe in God they still don’t understand the central message of Easter: God loves us personally and knows us by name. He became one of us to show us the way; he died to show us not to fear him but rather to live life in the sure and certain knowledge that God loves us.

Our God is a God of love; he cannot help himself. He will love us no matter what. Today, we celebrate that Christ is Risen! Ultimately that means that God’s love is unstoppable; even “shelter in place” cannot stop it. That is awesome news and if we could only realize that changes everything completely forever! We ought to feel the joy of every day.

I don’t know about you but with this extra time at home, I have started to realize how much I had taken for granted. The freedom to go for a walk or hike, the gift of having family close to visit and dine with often, the gift of a loving community to worship with and serve with each week, the gift of health, the gift of sharing a simple meal with friends and grace of working colleagues who are so dedicated. Oh! I have taken so much for granted.

Familiarity breeds contempt. Nothing robs us of joy more than familiarity. Ron Rolheiser reminds us that “nothing destroys our marriages, families, communities and our friendships more than the contemptuousness that is born of familiarity. The resurrection tells us that the familiarity is an illusion.”

The resurrection invites us to look at all things familiar to us until they become unfamiliar again. Then we will regain the joy of life again. Maybe in this time of Shelter in Place, we can look at our spouse and marvel at their beauty and wonder at their love for us. Maybe we can look at our children with new eyes and see that child whose grown up into a woman or man and be delighted with what we see. Maybe we can look at our friends of many years and be grateful for their presence in our lives, through thick and thin. Maybe we can look at our body that grows older each day and be grateful for what it has been through all these years and marvel that it still goes as well as it does. Maybe we can look at the familiar in life and see beyond the small dying moments and believe in the newness of life about to begin. In every moment of dying, something new is being born.

To believe in the resurrection of Jesus is to be comforted at the deepest level of oneself and realize that nothing in life is a threat any longer. All will be right! That is promise and reality of the resurrection. To hear God say to us over and over again and again: “Do not be afraid. I am right here. Everything is going to be alright. You have nothing to worry about. I am right here and I will always be right here.”

God loves us and he is right here now wherever we are in our lives. Thank you for making this community of believers an awesome place to be. Thank you for being you and I truly yearn to see you soon. Thank you.

May you have a wonderful Easter full of the surprises of God’s presence.

Fr. Brendan McGuire