Tag: Easter

Inspiring Goodness

Shining a Light on Goodness. The Empty Tomb: Easter with Mary Magdalene and Elizabeth Ann Seton

Smitten With Goodness

With St. Mary Magdalene, let us accept Christ’s ‘Do not touch me’ with the certainty that His words give us a new mission, and a new way to be with Him, just as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton met the hardships of her life with renewed faith and strength. Written by Lisa Lickona from the Seton Reflection published last year.  

Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection, Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1806 – 1858)

This year we celebrate our great and holy Feast, the Resurrection of Our Lord, in the most unexpected circumstances, most of us separated from physical participation in the Mass and the opportunity to receive Communion.

We are cut off from our family and friends and our parish communities. And we wonder: how can we live in this new situation, separated from the Body of God—both in the Eucharist and the living Church?

Continue reading “Shining a Light on Goodness. The Empty Tomb: Easter with Mary Magdalene and Elizabeth Ann Seton” →
Inspiring Goodness

Shining a Light on Goodness: We Adore You, O Christ, and We Praise You

Smitten With Goodness
One of the drawings created by the children
of the “Mater Divini Amoris” Family Home and the “Tetto Casal Fattoria” Family Home

As was the case last year during the beginning of the pandemic closures, this year’s Stations of the Cross (or Via Crucis) presided over by Pope Francis were held in the quiet and virtually empty St. Peter’s Square.  This year, though, the mediations and prayers for each Station were prepared and read by children from Rome and other Italian cities.  The faith and hope expressed by these children are profound and moving and are worthy of further reflection during this Easter season.  As a complement to the text of the meditations and prayers provided here, you can watch a video of the Stations and hear the children’s sweet voices, as well as see several of the children greet Pope Francis with hugs after the Stations concluded. 

Continue reading “Shining a Light on Goodness: We Adore You, O Christ, and We Praise You” →
Inspiring Goodness

Shining a Light on Goodness: A Pattern We Can Trust, A Richard Rohr Meditation

Smitten With Goodness

All will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well.
—Julian of Norwich, Showings, chapter 27

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which allows faithful Christians to trust that, indeed, all will be well. I like to think of the resurrection as God’s way of telling us that God can take the worst thing in the world—the killing of the God-Human Jesus—and change it into the best thing: the redemption of the world.

Continue reading “Shining a Light on Goodness: A Pattern We Can Trust, A Richard Rohr Meditation” →
Inspiring Goodness

New Life and Consolation Our Easter Celebration Continues

Smitten With Goodness

Amid the many hardships we are enduring, let us never forget that we have been healed by the wounds of Christ. In the light of the Risen Lord, our sufferings are now transfigured. Where there was death, now there is life. Where there was mourning, now there is consolation.

Pope Francis
Continue reading “New Life and Consolation Our Easter Celebration Continues” →
Inspiring Goodness

God’s Mercy Endures Forever, Let Us Be His Light

Smitten With Goodness
Alleluia. He is Risen.

As we have journeyed through Lent and an intensified Holy Week, I hope your heart is rejoicing and full of light in the fact that God’s mercy endures forever.  He is risen.  Alleluia!  I hope your faith has been strengthened and your heart has been lovingly pruned and purified so it is bursting with love.  Christ suffered greatly to grant us access to eternal life.  The time is now for us to mature spiritually and Be His Light in the world. 

Continue reading “God’s Mercy Endures Forever, Let Us Be His Light” →
Guide to Goodness

The Greatest Solemnity of the Year

Smitten With Goodness

After recollecting our Lord’s Passion and Death on Good Friday, Holy Saturday begins as a day of quiet prayer and reflection.  It is a day when no Mass is celebrated in the Catholic Church (until the solemn Easter Vigil that begins after sundown).  Instead, the faithful pray and meditate on the great sacrifice our Lord has made for all of us, and anticipate His Resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday. 

Continue reading “The Greatest Solemnity of the Year” →
Inspiring Goodness

Holy Thursday — Entering the Easter Triduum

Smitten With Goodness

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. 

We have spent the past 40 days of Lent renewing and reinvigorating our faith in preparation for Easter.  The sacrifices and penances we have made have softened our hearts to be ready to enter the Easter Triduum — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil — in which we commemorate the passion, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Easter Triduum allows us to walk in Jesus’s footsteps during His final hours on earth.

Continue reading “Holy Thursday — Entering the Easter Triduum” →
Guide to Goodness

Hope is Not Canceled

Smitten With Goodness

Today’s post is written by a guest contributor Jacquelyne Rocan. Jacquelyne has been a spiritual sister to me throughout the years and I am pleased to introduce you to her!

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and I find myself recalling this time last year.  While there were certainly reports of the new coronavirus circulating in more and more communities, I celebrated Ash Wednesday in 2020 in many of the same ways that I have always marked that day — attending Mass, receiving ashes on my forehead, fasting, and setting in place plans for experiencing a holy and spiritual Lenten season.  This included plans for additional prayers, readings, and attending Stations of the Cross.  I marked times for all of the Holy Week services on my calendar — the Easter Triduum of Holy Thursday Mass, Good Friday service, and Easter Vigil Mass.  It was important to me to fully participate and prepare by attending these services, as much as I could (especially through many years of serving on the RCIA team in my parish).  My Lenten and Easter seasons have felt incomplete when I have been unable to prepare and attend the Easter Triduum services.

Continue reading “Hope is Not Canceled” →