What Is Next?
Formation
Coordinator
~ Our Lenten prayer and almsgiving concluded…
Jesus died, but then rose again…
Our catechumen has been baptized, our candidates initiated into the Church, and our 7th graders completed their Christian initiation…
Soon our 8th graders and high school and college seniors will graduate…
A leader said or did something…
What is next?
This question is on repeat in my head – most especially in the Spring. Things end, new things arise, there are changes, but our lives don’t just stop there. The question always comes: what are we called to next? Sometimes that thought brings dread, sometimes hope, and sometimes excitement. As we read through the Easter stories of the disciples seeing Jesus, I hear them encounter all of these same emotions as this question loops through their minds. It’s not just about what they will be doing next, it’s about what they might see or experience next that fills them with equal parts joy, wonder, and dread, I think.
While it’s tempting to think that what’s next for each of us will be different, I think our readings today assure us that the next experiences for each of us include these important commonalities:
· We will see Christ in the strangers among us.
· We will recognize Christ present in our Sacraments.
· We will hear Christ’s voice when words of truth and hope are shared with us.
· We will receive His Holy Spirit, poured out on us.
· And just like Christ, we will also be reunited with God after our own earthly death.
So – whatever has you wondering, or hoping, or worrying today about what might come next, center yourself on this. Because whether we find exciting new opportunities or events we dread, Christ still promises these five central realities: He is here with us now, and will be until the end of time. We just have to open our eyes, and our hearts, to see Him.
Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.
