HE IS RISEN!
Happy Easter and Divine Mercy dear friends!
He is Risen!! Alleluia!! I pray this finds you full of peace and joy, in this Easter season. If you aren’t necessarily feeling joyful, we can choose joy and love, and He will come and put joy and love right there (as St. John of the Cross would say). The season lasts 50 days so we have many days to celebrate the joy of His resurrection! Know that we have been and will continue praying for you nightly, as you embrace this season of Easter. We can be filled with and live in hope, because God Himself became man, chose to die for all of us (yup, even that co-worker you struggle to love, the homeless man sitting on the step of your favorite coffee shop, your spouse, child, sister, brother, mother, step-sister, in-laws, and Judas himself) and then CONQUERED DEATH by rising from the dead. Our faith is alive, miraculous, intense, and full of great love (more love than you can ever imagine).
As we await our home study completion, there is a particular grace of waiting with Him. In contrast to our first home study process, this process has moved much more quickly and I’m finding my heart is actually experiencing the invitation to slow down even more and just soak in the gift of this time. Our first home study experience was after 5 years of waiting for our family to grow. I found myself in haste, desiring for things to move more quickly than they were and hoping in Him and yet rushing His timing. He showed us that His timing is perfect (as it always is), He couldn’t and wouldn’t hurry along the conception and life of our Caeli girl and in fact she would come into the world more quickly and sooner than typical (24 weeks).
As I heard today’s Gospel and was praying about what to write today, I realized that I was much like St. Thomas (doubting Thomas) throughout our first adoption. Full of questions, not sure if I could really trust Him, and in turn He revealed so much of myself to me as I asked questions and He repeatedly encouraged me that He knew what He was doing and to relate back to Thomas, He is who He says He is and has the wounds to “prove” it. (Just a note that Jesus never has to prove anything to anyone but He does reveal parts of Himself in His love and mercy).
In His mercy, He could choose not to reveal Himself to those who doubt, let them suffer and die without knowing Him, and yet He reveals Himself time and time again, waiting for our response of receiving that He is who He says He is and is inviting us to let Him be who He is in our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. In all of this, I am moved on Divine Mercy Sunday to recognize that He didn’t have to show His wounds to Thomas and could have gotten angry, rebuked Him, and asked Him to leave His followers. Instead He chose to reveal Himself, let St. Thomas touch the most tender parts of His now resurrected but still wounded body which helped him to see Jesus was really alive and well. That is love. Tender and merciful love.
Jesus knows what each of our hearts need, His Father crafted them! My prayer for all of us is that we would become disciples who believe without seeing (John 20:29). Have a blessed second week of Easter dear friends! ❤️