EASTER HOPE

            

           Each year we start out Lent with the best of intentions and with much enthusiasm to accomplish a list of things to do or not do, building up to a great Easter celebration. In reality, not everything we plan to do actually gets done or survives the six weeks of Lent. Some things take a few years of false starts before gaining the momentum to last the whole six weeks.

         Well, don’t fret too much over it, because the good thing about Lent is that you get a chance to try it all over again every year. And the key is to keep trying Lent after Lent, until you find what is realistic and works well with you and your family or each member of the family. Even Peter, Jesus’ most devoted disciple got it wrong, when he denied Jesus three times but yet after his repentance, went on to fulfill Jesus’ promise to the people and to build-up His church. That is the beauty of the love and grace of our God, he is ever-forgiving and accepts us coming back to do it better, even if it is, a little at a time.

              When your teen comes to you and tells you with a sense of regret for not doing quite enough for Lent, it is a response moving in the right direction and that next Lent there will be an inner self-desire to do better. It is a little tricky working around the schedules of each person in the family, to find a good time when everyone is available in mind and spirit to gather for nightly prayers and reflections. What matters most is that we have processed the reasons for doing what we want to do at Lent and with visible reminders at home, the family can appreciate that we have been given this “gift” of time at Lent, for us to take stock and do better. If we view Lent as a time of suffering or a time that we grudgingly do our penance and prayer, then when Easter comes around, we will go right back to our old ways without realizing why we made a Lenten journey in the first place.

            But let’s not stop at Lent, even if we did not quite succeed in doing everything we planned, some things or habits which we have developed during Lent, like attending daily Mass, praying the Rosary, and doing away with snacking between meals, could be something we would want to keep through the rest of the year.

            So, with whatever was done or not done at Lent, don’t be disheartened from celebrating the whole reason for Easter – Jesus who died for our sins resurrected from the dead so that we too may have Eternal Life in him - Jesus’ Resurrection is Good News and we become people of great hope. A people gifted with Easter Hope that things can only get better! Alleluia!