We are Easter People and Alleluia is Our Song

During my six years at Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Swampscott, I customarily distributed ashes to the children at Saint John Nursery School. Some of the children were a bit nervous about going home with dirty faces, so I told them that they could receive ashes if they wanted to do so, but nobody was forced to do so.  At that point one of the little boys proclaimed. “Okay, all the ‘ash people’ over this side of the room” and the mini-penitents lined up for ashes!

Sometimes I think that we too might be described as ‘Ash People’ as Ash Wednesday leads us comfortably into Lent to open our hearts to the awareness of our sinfulness and need for conversion, it is not enough on being the‘Easter People’ that Lent prepares us to be. We are more apt to enter fully into the penitential season of Lent, than the season ‘New Life; of Easter. So I would like to embrace for myself and propose to you some ‘Easter Resolutions’ to follow up on your ‘Lenten Resolutions.’ The Easter Season numbers fifty days until we welcome the out pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church and at Pentecost. But we do not need to end it there for “We are Easter People’ and Alleluia is our song!”
(Saint Augustine of Hippo)

“I have come that you may have life and live it more abundantly.’ John 10:10