My dad sent out an email earlier this morning with the subject line “The Easter Bunny is at our house.” The family dog, Scout, has always enjoyed his stuffed carrot squeaker toys. It appears that as he napped with them this morning the paparazzi arrived in time to capture the moment for our amusement.
I do enjoy traveling and have always enjoyed road trips. This year’s spring break was no different. I had intended on keeping things a bit more low-key, but then everything I wanted to do fit into my schedule perfectly without any conflicts. And then *POOF* I was out of town for ten days.
I had a lovely trip to Connecticut to visit a religious community and go on a retreat. I’m so grateful that I made my retreat (which coincidentally also counts for my Lay Formation retreat requirement) at the start of my spring break. It allowed me to think, sleep, unwind, and pray–and who can’t use a little R & R now and then? Additionally, I was privileged to witness the joy the sisters live in their life, prayer, and ministry.
Then I was able to visit my little sister at her college–she took me to my first hockey game ever! (And her college won.) She and I have made a concerted effort to visit one another even though we don’t live close. When I was in college she would visit me for “Little Sibs Weekend.” She and I have celebrated Thanksgiving together the past two years, also. But there is something really fun about getting to see how grown up she is now that she’s studying hard in college.
Lastly, this past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to speak on a panel of alums at my alma mater, Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, IN). In my four years there I had never had the chance to hear first hand what you could do with a religious studies major. It was inspiring to visit with the other panelists and learn where God has led them in the past 15 years since they’ve graduated. The students themselves also seemed to be thankful to engage in conversation about what their degree can mean for/to them. I am very blessed to have the formative experience that Saint Mary’s gave to me. They value my opinion as a graduate and I continue to grown in gratitude for my time there. And as a bonus I got to give a “plug” for Aquinas and what a great school it is!
**The original post was lost when we had a server crash, but here’s a bit of it that I can remember.** (KJP- 3/18/08)
Joyce Rupp, a well-known spiritual writer, has a beautiful image for what we do during Lent. She calls it “tomb-watching.” I used this image in a preaching I gave in class earlier this week. Rupp’s imagery reminded me of the friends I’ve walked with through struggles and sorrows. And like angels who watched over the body of Jesus as he laid in the tomb, so often do we do the same with our friends in the midst of the “deaths” we each experience. Through the resurrection, these tomb-watches have great power as we remain confident in the new life that comes from death. Here is an excerpt of Rupp’s words:
Tomb-Watch:
It all began with a postcard tucked inside an envelope with a letter. I’m sure my friend never knew what that small print of the fourteenth station of the cross would generate in me. Neither did I. But I did know the instant I saw the print by the southwest artist, Ettore (Ted) DeGrazia, that something (or Someone) tugged at my Lenten spirit and asked me to look longer.
DeGrazia’a print shows the body of Jesus wrapped in a traditional mummy-like white shroud, lying on a stone slab. Ah, but the body is not alone. All around it are shawled sorrowing angels keeping vigil. Their soft rainbow colors are the darkness of the tomb. Slightly bowed as they sit, one knows immediately that their hearts are weary with sadness for their Beloved. They watch with a patient vigilance, attending the One who has given all. They trustfully wait for the piercing light of Resurrection to banish the gloom of death’s house….
I understood, then, the power of these angels surrounding the shrouded body of Jesus. I saw clearly how each of us needs “tomb watches” every now and then. Maybe we are keeping vigil for a part of ourselves that lies dormant and seemingly dead or lost or has fallen into a coffin of depression or despair. Maybe that shrouded figure in us is the loss of a way to pray, a deadening unforgiveness, or a body experiencing its physical limitations. Maybe our “tomb watch” is our becoming the angel of vigil, attending someone else in pain. Maybe the vigil we keep is for the people of our world as we weep for their woe or for the Earth herself as she continues to experience humanity’s reckless waste and the grime of greed…
Easter is about “tomb watches”. It is about love that keeps vigil and waits and believes in life, no matter how dark and empty and cold the inner space feels. Easter is about hope that is willing to sit in the tomb while it trusts in transformation. Easter is about faithful companions who keep watch with us and cheer us on as we wait for our inner resurrection”.