No Backsliding

Second Sunday after Easter

    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  When I was a child, I usually gave up chocolates and sweets for Lent (even though I didn’t really like chocolate, and didn’t eat that many sweets because my parents didn’t really buy us any on a regular basis).  But it was the thing to do.  Then, on Easter morning, the Easter Basket would have lots of sweets in it (we also often did the chocolate bunnies), and I would go to town, seeming to make up for all the sweets I didn’t have over the past 40 days by indulging in those sweets the first few days of Easter (the sweets rarely made it beyond Easter Tuesday).
    Perhaps this is a familiar story to you.  Perhaps this is your own experience of Lent and Easter.  And to a certain extent, there’s nothing absolutely wrong.  I know some people gave up meat for Lent, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a nice steak as a way of celebrating Easter.  Or others, through Exodus 90, gave up warm water for their showers, so maybe Easter Sunday the hot shower was a little longer than usual.
    But one of the points of Lent is that we are growing closer to Christ, facilitated by those penances we take upon ourselves.  But Easter doesn’t mean that we move farther away from Christ, now that Lent is over.  In fact, each year God desires that we grow in holiness, even if in small ways, so that we don’t start at the same point in 2024 that we did in 2023.
    So how are you doing in living your Easter life?  Are you still growing closer to God through your prayers, weekly ascetical practices, and working on the virtues?  Or has it been more of the, “Phew! Thank God Lent’s over!  Now I can get back to all those bad habits that I used to have!”? 
    God wants us to follow Him closer and closer, like a sheep who not only hears the voice of the Good Shepherd, but stays closer and closer to Him in the pasture, and allows Him to lead us around, rather than having to chase after us and bring us back to the fold.  Because the closer we are to Christ, the less likely it is that we are going to feed on bad grass (i.e., bad doctrine, vicious habits), or be injured by wolves and other creatures that wish us harm (giving in to the temptations that the demons whisper in our ear). 

    Of course, none of this is possible by ourselves.  Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down His life for us, His sheep.  He sacrificed Himself so that we could have live.  As St. Peter said in our epistle, “By his stripes we were healed.”  And because of that, we can die to sin and live in the virtue of justice.
    So what are the ways that you are growing your relationship with our Lord, and growing in your understanding of the faith?  You don’t have to take graduate-level courses, but are you engaged in what our parish offers for faith sharing groups and Bible studies?  We have a wonderful study on the Eucharist in the Scriptures that will start in May.  Have you checked to see if you can participate in it?  Or maybe you have a desire to study something else.  There are many online courses (some for free) that will guide you, like Fr. Mike Schmitz’s podcast “The Catechism in a Year.”  Or maybe it would be helpful for you to share your joys and struggles with others who are in similar situations, like various mom groups that we have in the parish and in the area, and see how God is helping you to be the best mom or dad, wife or husband, that you can be.  Or, if you’re younger, maybe try a new devotion in your life, like the Litany of Trust, or maybe organize a group of your friends to gather for prayer and a meal, or maybe prayer and some sporting event, or, if you’re of age, talk about your faith together at a local watering hole (with moderation in beverages, of course). 
    Lent is a time that is meant to turn us away from our sinful passions, and draw us closer to Christ.  And while it’s very appropriate to celebrate during Easter, we shouldn’t backslide, but should try to keep that strong relationship with Christ for which we worked so hard during Lent, so that when we come to Lent next year, we’re in a better place, and can work on getting rid of other sinful passions and drawing even closer to Christ.  God not only desires that we be in the same pasture with the Good Shepherd, but that we get closer and closer to Him, so that we can not only hear His shouting about remaining with Him, but even, like St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, lean upon His chest to hear His Sacred Heart and what He wants to whisper to us as His beloved.  May our Easter joy include the joy of being closer to our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, reigns for ever and ever.  Amen.