All creation is budding forth as it joins in celebrating the Resurrection. We can finally begin to open the doors of our homes, taking in the freshness of a new season, which brings forth new life and rejuvenates us. Before all this could happen, we had to experience the cold and darkness of winter. It is fitting that the Lenten season takes place at this time. It reminds us to take up our cross daily and prepare to celebrate Easter with joy through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Life presents us with crosses to bear and to help carry the cross of others. I want to share one:
In March, Sam, one of my current foreign exchange students from Slovakia (who is staying with me for the school year), received news that his father had tragically died. My other host student and I, along with a couple of friends, were present to support Sam as his grief-stricken mother (via FaceTime) had to break the news to her son. It was a moment that I will never forget, as we witnessed a 17-year-old, living thousands of miles away from home, being told of his father’s passing. The immense suffering that took place then and the days to follow of a young person trying to wrap his mind around the horrible news was heart-wrenching. In short, as Sam went home to Slovakia for the funeral, I decided to attend, too, leaving a few days later. At first, I questioned whether this was the right decision for various reasons. But I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to do so. On the day of the funeral, as I sat with the family in church for the Mass to begin, it was then that I fully realized why I was here: to support and walk the path with Sam and his family.
We all bear crosses but live by faith and know our Redeemer lives. I realize that through this Christian act of sharing in the suffering of others, it is during our struggles and our pain that we will be used to save sinners and redeem the world. Please remember Sam and his family in your prayers. Happy Easter!
