Resurrection

The struggles of families — and the ordinary work that keeps us going — are all over the Easter Gospels.

As Pope Leo XIV joined thousands in St. Peter’s Basilica to pray for peace April 11, tens of thousands of people — young and old — descended on Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles to join in that prayer.

What we call Easter is not only for the moment. It’s about the past, present and future.

No one expected the cross, a Roman torture instrument, to become a symbol of hope, of love and of new life. It is one of the worst things that could happen to a human being. Yet in God’s mysterious plan, a wooden torture instrument becomes the tree of life.

In his latest book, Father James Martin writes about “Journeying into the place of letting go can be difficult.” He hopes to be “a guide down that staircase, into the tomb, and then back out into the light.”

Because heaven is so abstract, we try to find a description through church teachings and preachings.

“The war in Ukraine has been a Gethsemane and crucifixion for many,” said Basilian Sister Ann Laszok “but we believe in the Resurrection that will follow.”

“Each of us is called to be about the work of resurrection in our daily lives.”