Dear Friends,
In his Tales of the Hasidim, Martin Buber relates the following story. “Once, on the eve of the Day of Atonement, Rabbi Zusya heard a cantor in the House of Prayer chanting the words: ‘And it is forgiven…’ Then he called to God: ‘Lord of the world! Had Israel not sinned, how could such a song have been intoned before you?’”
How indeed. Perhaps Easter’s greatest mystery is God’s ability to turn all things towards grace. The Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) comes to mind: “O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!”
All the exclamation points in the world would not suffice to express the wonder of God’s merciful love for us. All the exclamation points in the world fall short of God’s marvelous ability to turn all things towards grace.
And it is forgiven. All is forgiven and redeemed in Christ, who has “foresuffered all” (T.S. Eliot). As we allow the Lord to reshape our minds and hearts and lives, Easter becomes not merely a liturgical season, but a participation, even now, in the eternal life of God.
God bless you,
Fr. John Pietropaoli
