Easter Sunday

Our parish is normally pretty full at the early morning Sunday service, one of four masses on Sunday, but yesterday it was packed to the rafters and we had to put chairs down the aisles to accommodate everyone; and I imagine it was so throughout the Catholic world.

After the magic of the papacy of John Paul II, followed by the extraordinary one of Pope Benedict XVI, who has shocked those who predicted he was ushering in the next Inquisition, by revealing himself to the world what all of those who knew him realized him to be; a rather shy and gentle intellectual, but with the steely faith of Peter for the steady hand on the great barque sailing through eternity that our faith always needs.

And what marvels abound in our Catholic world in recent months, from the taking to the tool shed of the leading liberal politicians who tried to instruct the Church on the correct attitude to have on abortion, to the conversions of leading conservatives to the faith, and the outrage over the invitation by one of the jewels of our Catholic Colleges to our nation’s president; whose staunch pro-abortion stance invalidates any and all reasons for being honored at Catholic colleges for anything beyond the simple holding of the office of the presidency, deeply honored by all Catholics.

And so, on this quiet day after the greatest day in the history of the world, after the great acclamation of the mystery of our faith, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”, we reenter the workaday world, but even more strongly held by our cherished faith that is truly the light unto the world.