April 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ is Risen!
The Resurrection of our Lord reveals to us the truth that life cannot be conquered by death, nor light by darkness, nor goodness by evil. The core of everything is God. It has always been and will always be. Even at those times where darkness seems to prevail, the light that resides in all things will eventually shine with piercing brilliance.
I remember what one mother told her son (although I don’t remember who it was or where I read it). She instructed him when disaster strikes to look for the people who rush to help. Of course, it is not always the case. There are far too many cases of people who cry for help and are ignored, but there are far more examples of neighbors rushing to help neighbors when tragedy appears. These spontaneous acts of compassion and mercy reflect the image of God in humankind.
Compassion is the heart of the Gospel that Jesus taught. “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.” And then he continues to elucidate what this means: “Don’t judge…don’t condemn…forgive...” (Luke 6:36-37) Why? Because God the Father does and because the truth of who we are is that we are mirrors that reflect him.
“The image of God is like a mirror. When God looks at us, he sees himself.” (J. Endsley)
So, now that we have celebrated Christ’s victory of death, there is nothing to stop us from being bright mirrors of God’s love to the world except our own unwillingness to do so. Take time every day to clean the mirror. Rejoice, for the kingdom of heaven is always at hand!
With deep love and affection,
Fr. Antony