EASTER — A REFLECTION By Pearse McDonnell

I kind of miss Lent.
Yes, that is an unusual way to begin a reflection on the Easter season, but I will explain why.
Lent is a time for penance. We are preparing ourselves for what is to come. An oversimplified description of Lent is to say we pray more, we receive the Sacraments, we eat less and we do good works for others. When you think of it, that really isn’t that difficult. We follow certain tasks and we are done. We know what is expected of us.
But Easter is a different story. After enduring a painful, awful, terrible agonizing death on the cross, Jesus rises from the dead. He is Risen! He conquers death and offers everlasting life. We are told that He died for US, his people. Once again, we can be comfortable with that.
The difficulty is believing that “Christ died for ME.” It’s that ME part that’s hard. Often, we doubt we are worthy of that love. I remember my first experience with that idea; I was on my high school Christian Awakening. I struggled and fought the entire weekend that if people knew who I really was they would know Christ could not love me. It took me awhile to believe I was lovable, and to this day I sometimes forget.
I have seen the same thoughts and doubts on every Cursillo weekend I have worked on over the years, starting with the college age program in the 1970s up to today on the Men’s Cursillo. I am sure they are just as evident on Women’s Cursillo. The idea that God loves us just the way we are, that Jesus died for me the individual. That is the difficult aspect of the Easter season. But if we allow ourselves to let God love us and be present in our daily lives, it can be something wonderful. To have someone on our side, someone we can lean on when we need to. A sense of belonging. If I accept God’s love for ME, that opens my world to the love of others.
It is as if we have our own personal resurrection. If we die to the darkness of the self-doubt of our specialness and worth and come into the light of God’s love and forgiveness, then we can have a life of hope and love and we can share God’s love with the people we encounter.
People who know me always hear me talking about service to others. That’s the message Jesus shared with his apostles before he ascended into heaven.
Can we accept that role now and see God in the people around us? Can we be open to what they need and try to help?
We say Amen to end prayers or petitions or blessings. The Oxford language defines the meaning of Amen as “So Be It.” The Hebrew bible defines it as agreement, certainty and faithfulness. At Mass on the Men’s Cursillo as we are offered the Body of Christ, we are challenged to not just say Amen but more deeply say, “I Believe.” For me I am saying that Jesus died for me, that Jesus loves me, that Jesus asks me to love and serve those in my life, whether it is easy or difficult, and that He will come again. This Easter season you have the same opportunity to say, “I Believe.”
So Be It.