A Totus Tuus Family: Oops, Easter's over, but here are my Easter photos :)

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Oops, Easter's over, but here are my Easter photos :)

One thing I've learned about God is that His blessings always outweigh the crosses that He allows in our lives. This Easter season reminded me that the difficult season of Lent that we all encounter through fasting, extra penances, and added prayer to our busy days is always worth it and overshadowed by the joys of the Easter season! In fact, even the length of Lent vs Easter is a sign of God's love and mercy for us! Lent is only 40 days (which often feels like 40 months!) and Easter is 50 days (which is the LONGEST liturgical season in the Church calendar!) How awesome is that!

I'm not sure about you, but I've had some tough Lenten seasons that I thought would never end and made me question God's love a little bit. Like the Lent when our son Dominic ended up in the hospital with a knee infection that resulted in a three year rollercoaster of PTSD-induced panic attacks for him that we didn't think would ever end. Or last year's Lent...that was a doosey. Joseph had a skiing accident that tore up his knee, resulting in months of crutches and a brace, which crushed his baseball season and certainly put a damper on his senior year. Oh, and how could I forget, that was the Lent that Covid hit too, so we got to experience the cross of being locked in our homes, a bit fearful of this unknown virus, doing remote learning for school, and wearing masks once we were finally able to leave our homes! The Lent of 2020 will certainly be remember by all :}

But somehow Easter---the real meaning of Easter---always pulls us through those long seasons of Lent with HOPE and JOY that we didn't even know was possible. I feel like that happens every year---sometimes in small ways, sometimes in dramatic ways. And this year was no exception. This year, with the prolonged pandemic, the very probable stolen election, the mask mandates, the political and racial divisions, the downward spiral our country seems to be taking...it made Lent feel extra long and a heavy cross to carry. But then Easter came... It didn't take all those crosses away, but it reminded me of Jesus's gift of salvation that He won for us on the cross. He already won the victory. Those who love Him and live their lives in His service will be with Him in Heaven someday. Easter reminds me of that huge and hopeful truth. The reminders of new life are all around me...in the budding trees, our new chicks, the frequent rain, the greenness of the grass. I love the season of Easter. It gives me hope after every long Lent. I hope you are filled with hope too. God is good, all the time. Just look at the proof all around you. Here's some of my proofs...