Easter Sunday

04-09-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Mike Straley

Blessed Easter to you all,

In 1999, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote a book asking a good question for our world today: “Can there really be special holy places and holy times?” The book is entitled, The Spirit of the Liturgy. While it can get a little technical, it is also very readable and appropriate for Catholics today.

He writes, “Christian worship is surely a cosmic liturgy, which embraces both heaven and earth.” He then asks, “Is the whole world not now God’s sanctuary? Is sanctity not to be practiced by living one’s daily life in the right way?

Is our divine worship not a matter of being loving people in our daily life? Is that not how we become like God and so draw near to the true sacrifice? Can the sacral by anything other than imitating Christ in the simple patience of daily life? Can there be any other holy time than the time for practicing love of neighbor, whenever and wherever the circumstances of our life demand it?”

Cardinal Ratzinger then states, “Whoever asks questions like these touches on a crucial dimension of Christian understanding of worship.” Of course, he does not exclude the “not yet” dimension of our worship experience.

This is “just touching” on the depth of the understanding of our experience of the Eucharist every day. Those questions can lead us to examine ourselves and our worship experience of our God.

May Christ draw us all closer to Him in this Easter Season,

Fr. Mike