Happy Easter everyone! Feliz Pascua de Resurreccion! To start off this post I want to share one of my all-time favorite songs to listen to during the Easter season. I love it because it shows the joy and power of Christ's victory in the Resurrection. It quotes St. Paul's taunting words of "Where o Death is your sting? Where o Sin is your victory?" Ha! Take that Satan! The enemy has been defeated! Enjoy a little listen while you read through the rest.
I have to say that the Easter Vigil here on Saturday night was wonderful! 11 adults, 2 teens and 2 kids became Catholic and were Baptized, Confirmed and/or made their First Communion in our parish. It is almost impossible to describe how much joy this brings me. These 15 people (and the 20 others from the two previous years) make such an impact on me and my faith life during the 9 months that we meet weekly. These are people that have faith and you know it- they're not afraid to show and they're also not afraid to ask questions when they doubt it. But Saturday night there were no doubts. They professed to believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and in the Catholic Church. And it was into that faith that they were baptized. What witnesses!
Easter Sunday was also really good. I was invited over to my co-worker's house for dinner with her family and friends. She's like a second (or third or fourth- there's so many kind women here who treat me so nicely) mother to me and it was nice to be included. She'd actually had my parents and me over for Thanksgiving last year and so I had already met most of the people there. I just wish my parents could have joined us again. But it was okay because I got to video chat with them Sunday night! For how much I video chat with Andres, it's surprising how much I don't video chat with my family. It would be so easy but we've never gotten into the habit. I mainly talked with my mom and dad, although I got to speak briefly with my sister too. And I realized something: I love them SO MUCH! I think I pretty much always realize that I love them (being apart from them helps with that) but on Easter Sunday I just felt a great immensity to that love. And that in turn made me very thankful to God for this great gift He's given me in my family.
Lastly tonight I will talk about being thankful for Andres. I was able to video chat with him both before and after talking to my family. Lately, as in the past three weeks, I have been missing Andres like crazy! It's insane how much I miss him and it hasn't been this bad in about a year. It just feels like there is this huge part of me that's missing and that huge part is him. But while all this missing is taking place I've also been growing deeper in love with him. And starting Saturday night and continuing yesterday and today (this Easter season is just magical) I've just felt so thankful for this love I have for Andres and realizing what a great gift it is that God put a man like him in my life. Andres is so good to me and God is so good to me.
With all this thankfulness welling up inside of me, it makes me think that it should be Thanksgiving but it's not. It's Easter, the time of the resurrection and new life! And so with this newfound and deeper sense of thanksgiving I will celebrate and praise the risen Lord! I hope this season also provides all of you with reasons to be thankful. May Jesus Christ pour His Easter graces upon you!
P.S. I hope to include pictures from the vigil soon but I left my camera at work!
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