It’s not about the bunny; It’s about the Lamb!

It’s not about the bunny; It’s about the Lamb!

   March 9^th (Feb. 22nd, 2023) was Ash Wednesday which began the preparation time we call Lent.  We are preparing for a time, the Triduum, in which we’ll remember the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

   While Easter is the greatest celebration in our Church’s liturgical year, it has gotten entangled with commercial ties.  Easter eggs, chocolates & other candy, and the Easter bunny have become closely associated with this season.  Yet we must not let that overshadow the real reason for the Easter celebration – that Jesus came to live among people, suffer as He did, even give His life and be raised from death.  This was done to reconcile us back into the kingdom of God.

   Just as in the time of Moses, the blood of an unblemished lamb was used to spare those who had it on their doorposts, we are saved by Jesus, the (unblemished/sinless) Lamb of God.  Our redemption was an act of love, God’s choice to save us.

   Much of our Eucharistic Celebration, the Mass, is based on what we experience through the Easter season.  There is consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus & receiving Holy Communion that comes from The Last Supper.  There is the Lamb of God, through which we recognize Jesus as the sinless One who took on our sins and offers us mercy and reconciliation.

   There is so much more about the Mass that can be traced back to our rich spiritual heritage and tradition.  As I learn more about Mass and the message of Jesus, I get closer to God – and that feeling is so uplifting.  In our preparation through Lent there are many things we can do to get closer to God.  Some of them include attending extra Masses during the week, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, setting special time for prayer, reading the Bible, or you may have some other ideas too.

   Who is this God who finds us worth redeeming – I want to know You more.  I know (and of course God does too) that I can’t handle the answers in big chunks, so the revelations come in small bits.  Yet to me the messages are significant.

   That’s also what the overall message is – we are significant and important to God.  We are worth saving, even to the point of sacrificing the Lamb.  That’s what the passion of our Lord is all about – So we have a Way home.

After this Lent, continue with what you sacrificed (all or some of it/them) to keep helping you get closer to God.  Don't just go back to your pre-Lent lifestyle; our preparation through Lent is meant to make changes that improve us.