A blessed Easter

15th Station, El Rosario Church, San Salvador, El Salvador

Easter begins with the Vigil Service late Holy Saturday evening and continues until Pentecost – 50 days of celebration.

I will be in Vera Cruz, Copán, for the Vigil and the Easter Sunday morning Celebration of the Word with Communion. Then, God willing, I'll visit two good friends in Gracias, Lempira – two Dubuque Franciscan sisters, Nancy and Brenda.

Easter is the celebration of the Risen Lord - in history and in our lives today.

I offer this meditation of Carlo Carretto, a Little Brother of Jesus, on what Easter is:

When you forgive your enemy,

when you feed the hungry,

when you defend the weak,

you believe in the resurrection.

When you have the courage to marry,

when you welcome the newly born child,

when you build your home,

you believe in the resurrection.

When you wake at peace in the morning,

when you sing to the rising sun,

when you go to work with joy,

you believe in the resurrection.

Belief in the resurrection means filling life with faith,

it means believing in your brother or sister,

it means fearlessness toward all.

Belief in the resurrection means knowing

that God is your father,

Jesus your brother . . . .

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The quotation from Carlo Carretto can be found in Robert Ellsberg's collection, Carlo Carretto: Essential Writings (Orbis Books). A Spanish translation can be found in Carlo Carretto: Escritos esenciales (Sal Terrae), cited on my Spanish language blog here.