{"id":14857,"date":"2012-04-16T11:50:05","date_gmt":"2012-04-16T16:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=14857"},"modified":"2012-04-16T11:50:05","modified_gmt":"2012-04-16T16:50:05","slug":"the-disciples-rejoiced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/04\/the-disciples-rejoiced\/","title":{"rendered":"The disciples rejoiced"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

"Just as the sunflower turns to the sun which richly endows it, we turn with heart and mind to you, Father, in faith." - Fr J. Kentenich<\/p><\/div>\n

As Catholics, we\u2019re usually pretty good at sacrificing.\u00a0 That is to say, we\u2019ve usually had some practice with it, and we\u2019re used to talking about it as a part of our faith life. Most of us were focused on it daily for the past 6 weeks!<\/p>\n

Now, in these next 7 weeks, let us focus on REJOICING! Ever notice that the Easter Season is longer than Lent? The Lord knows that after walking with Him through the desert, we need to feast for longer than we fasted! Why is it that each night in Lent we ask ourselves if we were faithful to our Lenten strivings, yet in Easter we do not daily rejoice with the Lord in His victory and thank Him?<\/p>\n

We see these themes of joy and victory throughout the liturgy of the Easter Season – just look at the mass readings from yesterday!<\/a> From Psalm 118,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe joyful shout of victory in the tents of the just\u2026 This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then from the Gospel according to John,<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.\u201d <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/strong>And we have seen the Lord! We have seen our \u00a0beloved Pascal Lamb, risen in victory over all our short comings, all our trials, all that persecutes us and all that separates us. Let us rejoice!<\/p>\n

Yet to rejoice is not to force a smile, not to practice positive psychology, and not to attempt to artificially prolong the sentiment of happiness.\u00a0 True rejoicing comes as it did for the disciples, as a natural response to an encounter with God\u2019s mercy and love incarnate in Christ.<\/p>\n

We rejoice when we realize that God has done for us what we could never do with out Him. When we sit and give attention to our own inner reality, we can see with honest empathy our \u00a0failings, our smallness, our limited love \u2013 the great chasm between our current state and the saint within. Instead of despairing, we must \u00a0pray to see the truth that Christ freely chose to bridge that great chasm with radical love. And when we sit before that magnanimous divine love, and allow ourselves to meditate upon it \u2013 what relief floods our soul!<\/p>\n

It is like when we step into the sun after cold, stiff hours inside artificial air conditioning, and our eyes squint and our skin pricks and at first we withdraw a bit before such strong warmth \u2013 but then, slowly, our hunched shoulders relax, our eyes adjust and open, and the warmth seeps in right down to our bones.<\/p>\n

That is how joy arises in the soul who encounters such divine mercy and love. We could<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Rachel Gardner<\/p><\/div>\n

never merit such love, and will never have to, because it is given as a gift. And thus our soul can rejoice \u2013 \u201cfor the Lord has done great things for me, and holy is His name!\u201d (Luke 1: 46-55)<\/p>\n

Have you not felt it \u2013 that relief, freedom and joy \u2013 when a loved one or other kind soul reaches out and helps you do that which in your weakened state, you could never have done alone? Your burden is shared and thus lessened, and gratitude wells up within you before such an act of love. These small acts reflect the infinite grace our Lord showers upon us through the victory of His Resurrection! Just as we consciously strove to give our Lenten offerings each day, let us now give ourselves the daily space and silence to contemplate His victory, and allow His joy to well up within us.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to leave with you one last thought, a phrase to help you be attentive to all the little signs of God\u2019s love, hidden in plain sight, that are cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving. In this time of Easter celebration, let us be the alma de la fiesta! \u201cAlma\u201d means soul in Spanish, and in Spanish you don\u2019t say \u201clife of the party,\u201d you say \u201calma de la fiesta\u201d \u2013 the soul of the party!!<\/strong> If we as Catholics have a reputation for being pretty good at the whole Lenten sacrifice thing, let us now make ourselves a name by being joyful souls, the alma de la fiesta, of the Easter celebration!<\/p>\n

Then we, too, may be a sign of Christ\u2019s victory, a soul magnified through no merit of our own, spending ourselves as Christ to bring mercy and joy to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Catholics, we\u2019re usually pretty good at sacrificing.\u00a0 That is to say, we\u2019ve usually had some practice with it, and we\u2019re used to talking about it as a part of our faith life. Most of us were focused on it daily for the past 6 weeks! Now, in these next 7 weeks, let us focus… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14857","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11962,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/i-kinda-3-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":14857,"position":0},"title":"I Kinda <3 Lent","author":"Rita Suva","date":"February 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Remember, man you are dust and to dust you will return.\" \u2013Roman Missal, Imposition of Ashes So, I\u2019m a little bit crazy. My favorite \u201cCatholic holiday\u201d is the Easter Triduum, but most especially within that, Good Friday. Yeah, the day Jesus Christ died. Most people think that it\u2019s just a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Ash-Wednesday-201x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":759608,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/dear-austin-let-us-pray\/","url_meta":{"origin":14857,"position":1},"title":"Dear Austin, let us pray…","author":"Rachel","date":"March 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It is a morning to pray. We woke up to the news today that the suspect behind the recent package bombs had been caught, and indeed had taken his own life in the process. Let us pray this morning together for peace in our city, for peace in our families,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_6798.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_6798.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_6798.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101478,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/what-my-husband-taught-me-about-lent\/","url_meta":{"origin":14857,"position":2},"title":"What My Husband Taught Me About Lent","author":"Britt Echtenkamp","date":"March 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This Lenten season is the first one Danger and I have experienced as husband and wife. We began the season as brand new parents, and didn't spend much time discerning what our Lenten sacrifices would be, either\u00a0individually and as a couple. At first, I declared I would give up Sonic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Face of Jesus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/sufferingservant-184x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11946,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/repent-but-dont-forget-to-rejoice\/","url_meta":{"origin":14857,"position":3},"title":"Repent, but don’t forget to Rejoice","author":"Maria Huemmer","date":"February 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The season of Lent is here! And with Lent comes prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Note that pouting, grumbling, and complaining are not part of our Lenten trio. In fact in yesterday\u2019s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, fast,and give alms in private so that only our Heavenly Father will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rejoice, that we are wonderfully made, even from dust!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/MH900436069-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":45437,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2014\/04\/questions-veiling-cross-passiontide\/","url_meta":{"origin":14857,"position":4},"title":"Questions About Veiling the Cross in Passiontide","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"April 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Lent is a slow build. With each passing week, we go deeper into the heart of the desert and seek a deeper dependence upon the Lord. We all know that the week leading up to the Paschal Triduum is Holy Week, but fewer know that \u00a0the week before Holy Week\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Veiling the Cross in Passiontide","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/VeilingtheCrossinPassiontide.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":387756,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/father-love-lenten-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":14857,"position":5},"title":"To My Father For All His Love: A Lenten Reflection","author":"Anonymous","date":"April 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest Post by Deacon Dan Lupo In Chicago, where I grew up, March days are shrouded in gray, blasted by icy wind, and blanketed by snow. Perfect Lent weather. The weather is Lent-perfect because the gray skies evoke a somber mood, which matches the serious attitude Lent fosters. Lent calls\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/atxcatholic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/deacondan-2-ordination-157x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}