Easter Blessings

Happy Easter to all my bloggy friends. This image is from an e-card I sent to family & friends. As one of my friends wrote, it shows "the tree of death becoming the tree of life." (Here's a plug for gratefulness.org - they have wonderful free e-cards!

The retreat was wonderful. Our entire novitiate community went down to our retreat house on the Jersey Shore for the Triduum Retreat. It was a mix of groovy sisters and associates and the general public, although most of the general public were religious from other communities with a few lay people. Many of them have been spending their Holy Week at Stella Maris for years ... and I can see why. The retreat team did a wonderful job, including regular blog reader and groovy associate Fr. Terry who was a wonderful celebrant at the easter vigil (not to mention the gold lame vestments!). The rituals and liturgies were meaningful and prayerful, and it was such a blessing to have the quiet time by the sea. Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Triddum has been such an important time for me ever since I returned to the Church almost 8 years ago. Mostly this is because our parish had wonderful and meaningful liturgies. As a friend of mine puts it, they pull out all the "Catholic mojo" this time of year. (I wrote about my Easters past last year if you're interested).

This was my first Easter Vigil since I returned to the church without adult baptisms ... the very fact that it was in the context of a retreat would of course preclude that. I did miss that aspect of the Vigil, but not as much as I would have thought. While the liturgies this weekend were creative and planned in the context of the retreat experience, they were also a very much a part of the experience of the universal church. We are the people of God, followers of Jesus, journeying with him and all suffering peoples, celebrating the awesome reality of new life. Hope comes out of the darkness. For more than 2,000 years we have been on this journey. We are an Easter people, which when you come down to it is pretty amazing.

Easter peace to you all.
Susan