He has risen. What should I do next?

    Invariably, it happens every Easter Sunday. I have just spent many weeks preparing myself for this special occasion. Swearing I would use the Lenten season to find enlightenment, I vow to fast, and give alms, and offer up my trivial sufferings in an effort to show that I somehow deserved what Jesus Christ did for me.

I listened closely to the reading as I joined my fellow parishioners for The Stations of The Cross, but not once did I feel the sting of the lash upon my back or the weight of a heavy cross on my shoulder. And, when we were done I went home to the comfort of my own bed.

On Holy Thursday I watched as my priest humbled himself to wash our feet just as Christ had done at the Last Supper. Slowly, the word humility and service began to strike a cord in my heart. I joined in the celebration of the Mass, and at the end the priest removed the Holy Eucharist from the tabernacle and led me to my own Garden of Gethsemane. In shocked silence I watched as he stripped the alter of it's coverings, the candles snuffed out, the sacred dishes from the Last Supper removed from sight, until all that was left was total silence, and a church growing darker by the minute.

Friday and Saturday brought more of the same as I grew in my understanding, not only what Christ suffered on the cross, but also how much I miss Him as my church grows cold to the touch without His presence in the tabernacle. My preparation is now complete. My heart fairly cries out, as it calls for Our Savior to return. With that cry comes the realization that I don't deserve what He has just done for me. In my shame, I beg for the whip to be laid upon my back and a heavier cross to make up for my failures to love.

Easter Sunday arrives. As I pull open the door to the church' the smell of white Easter Lily's fairly lifts my spirits to the sky. Gone are the purple shrouds that covered the statues that remind me that God will help me become holy if I so choose to ask for His help. Once again, the tabernacle candle is lit to show me that Christ has returned from the dead to fill my church with Truth and Light. As the stained glass windows fairly vibrate with the joyous song of Alleluia, I am reminded that my God is not only a loving God, He is a forgiving God too. It happens every Easter Sunday. So, what do I do next? Why of course, I will love Him in return for all He has done for me. Happy Easter!