A Friend at Easter

Easter is almost here, just a few short days… The week leading up to Easter, Holy Week, is a crazy week. I have a friend who works for the Church, well actually I have a few who do but I am referring to just one good friend of mine for this blog. She is the religious education director at my parish, Theresa, she also blogs at Timely Tid Bits, well back to her. She is going crazy just about know, with all the preparations for Easter, she has the RCIA people to deal with, and the parents of the REP families, the priest and the every day life stuff. It is a lot to deal with…

It must be hard to find the time to stop and truly think about what Easter is, when you are so busy, no time to reflect on the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Always running from here to there, helping everyone else out, preparing for this event or that event. Easter is more work than Christmas, for our friends that work for the Church.

Easter is, after all, the holiest of holy days. Nothing compares to it, this is the day of our salvation. Sure Christmas had to happen for Jesus to have died on the cross, but with out that death Jesus would have just been a great speaker, nothing else.

So I feel for my friends who work in the Church, so much is going on and they get so little help. The Church is not know for it’s great pay nor its easy work schedule. they just keep telling you “Your reward is in heaven”, I am sure it is, but that really don’t pay the bills or make time for there family here on earth.

So yah, Theresa is working tons of hours, lots over “over time” and pressures from everyone around her to get it done, and done right. But she knows this is her job, it’s what she loves to do, and in the end Easter will end and the day to day life will resume, until first communions hit, than confirmation and at last summer break!

But the funny thing is, Theresa seems to find time in her 60 hours a week job to pray, she seems to find that moment or two to reflect on her life and day, and she even seems to find time to search for the truth of Easter. Don’t believe me, go to her blog Timely Tid Bits and see for yourself. And before you say, well the blog is part of her job, no it’s not, I got her in to it as an exercise to reflect on herself and her faith. She makes the time to blog, she makes the time to pray and she makes the time to soul search.

Now lets look at our selves, do we, who do not work for the Church, find time to do the same?

Easter is almost here, this Sunday is Easter Sunday, than we have 49 more days of Easter (yes Easter is 50 days long, not just one day). Can we find the time to use the 50 days of Easter to reflect on what Easter really means. Can we use the time to slow down, to maybe even stop for a few seconds to reflect upon the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Christ. Or are we just busy for Jesus?

Really that is what it all comes down to, are we to busy for Jesus, can we find the time to spend a few quiet moments with him or is our life so packed that we just push Him out to make room for other, more important things, in our life?

Theresa and all my other Church working friends seem to find moments in the hectic time of Easter preparations for prayer and reflections, why can’t we?

Paul

p.s. To all who work for the Catholic Church, I will say a little extra prayer for you during this Easter season, keep up the good work, and keep the faith. For all the workers who do not do good work or keep the faith, I will say even more prayers.