Divine Mercy Sunday

I haven't posted in a very long time. Not for lack of desire, but for lack of time. And I know, if blogging were important enough, I'd do it, but it is something that I can let slide without serious consequences. So slide it does when the day-to-day stuff, like broken hands, the 10 day flu, or car accidents happen. That sums up my winter quite nicely.

Oh, and then I joined Facebook. It's addicting. The best thing about Facebook is reconnecting with old friends, or connecting for the first time with my brothers- and sisters-in-law. But it is definitely a time-eater.

In this Easter Season we hear Mass readings from the book of Acts. Acts. Once Jesus died, the apostles were ready to go back to their old lives, but Jesus called them to leave it all behind and to continue His work. To act; to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. During Lent we're focused on prayers and acts of penance and charity. Then comes the Easter celebration, and whew! Lent is OVER, and the temptation is to get back to life as we knew it.

But then we have Saint Faustina relaying Jesus' request that we continue with His work. And we are given this gift from Pope John Paul II officially declaring the Sunday after Easter Divine Mercy Sunday. With the Church's blessing, more and more parishes are encouraging the devotion, reminding us to begin the Novena prayers on Good Friday. It's pretty easy to pray that day. But on each day of the Easter Octave there are new petitions to present to God along with praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. So we can't go back to life as it was before Lent.

In fact, the Easter Season lasts 50 days. I like to think of it as practice time for the new life in Christ we received at Easter. Hopefully by the time Ordinary Time returns, our lives won't be the same!