Jesus is Risen...he is risen indeed!

We, as Catholics, have just ended our walk with Christ to the cross and have now begun Easter, which is the joy of the Resurrection.  What an Awesome time for the Church! We walk in the realized hope of the resurrection. It is hard in these dark times to hold onto hope, especially in the face of such great evil.  The chance that Obama may be reelected thus ensuring the continued murder of millions of babies and attacks on Holy mother Church, can seem overwhelming.  At times it feels as though all seems lost.  The Bishops, though they are starting to speak up now, have done nothing to prevent this, or the HHS mandate, from happening and in some cases have supported it. Where has our leadership been?  It is easy to see only the denial of so many Peters.  Yet there is hope.  How dark it must have been for Peter and the Apostles.  They had no leader. The man they followed and thought to be God was now dead. So they hid themselves, ran away, denied knowing Jesus.  It is easy to get lost in fear and hopelessness...Yes, how dark it must have been for Peter and the Apostles... until they saw an empty tomb. We must hold onto Hope, the hope of the resurrection.  God is still God, no matter how much the culture turns away form him.  No matter how many deny the truth, Jesus still reigns.  He is Alive! We do not serve some dead God, like Budah, or some unloving slave master like Allah, no our God is a living, loving God.  He has not and will not abandon us. We must hold on to him.  Yes, we want the world to be converted, but we must be converted ourselves.  "Rend not your garments, but your hearts."  The answer is not some new social policy, or some political party, it is our relationship with Jesus.  How intensely do we Love Jesus?  Do we give up that which is not needed for the glory of the Kingdom of God?  If that answer is no, and all of us can say we do not in some part of our lives, then do not be confused by the evil of others.  We must show them by our words and our actions.  The war we are engaged in must be seen for what it is...WAR! it is not a war being fought with Guns and unjustified violence, but "against powers and principalities".  our weapons are sacrifice, mortification, prayer, and our strength is the Joy of the Lord.  If you are in darkness, hold on to hope, i promise.....no wait, that's not right....... someone greater than I promises you.....the one who calls you beloved promises you......Jesus, who is God, Promises you...soon the flames of the Holy Spirit will descend upon you setting your very soul on fire with the Joy and zeal to fight this war.  the Spirit will empower you to keep going forward in Christ, to take hold of your heritage as a Son or Daughter of God Almighty, to face the darkness and not be afraid because Jesus, who went into that darkness and destroyed it, is ALIVE...ALIVE INDEED!