Feast Days in the Catholic Church are most often celebrated on the death day of the saints. This is the day that marks their share in the death of Our Lord Jesus Christ. From this day the offering of their life is complete, and the soul is directed to heaven. This is the day that they first might be regarded as “saints.”

There are only three feast days in the Church associated with a birth: Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ; June 24 commemorates the birth of St John the Baptist, and September 8 is the occasion for the Church to celebrate the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These three persons had an extraordinary holiness from the moment of their birth.

With the dawn of Easter, we proclaim our Alleluia with joy.  Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, just as He prophesied (Mt 17:23; Mk 8:31; Lk 9:22); as He promised His apostles. He lives forever. And His dying and rising is the pledge that we, too, are destined to live an everlasting life.

At the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night – the first Mass of Easter – it is fitting that catechumens are baptized. They are also sacramentally Confirmed, and they receive their First Holy Communion in the Mass.

I remember going to Washington D.C. for the first time many years ago.

We traveled by bus to participate in the annual January March for Life. It was in the morning that we came into the Capitol vicinities and I could see the Washington Monument. During the next days we would see – at least at a distance - the White House, the Jefferson Memorial  and the U.S. Capitol. I had seen pictures of these sites in books and on television, but it was striking to see them “in person” the first time.

In doing the work of God; in carrying out our responsibilities as sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, the secret ingredient is love: love for God, love for others. It is the “thing” that can make the difference: like a pinch of salt; like a spoon of sugar; like a small measure of yeast. Love softens and changes things that seem solidified and impenetrable – that don’t appear to be changeable.  Love notices things that others may never see. Love sees something in the eyes; it hears something in the voice, and love doesn’t fail to respond in support and kindness.

St Paul tells us that “There abide these three: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love. (I Cor 13:13)  St Thomas Aquinas teaches that charity is the formal cause of all the virtues. That is, charity must be the motivation and driving force behind all our virtuous efforts. So also the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by Charity.  .. It is the form of the virtues.” (CCC no. 1826)

I was in Rome once at the time of the election of a new pope, I heard a story that went like this: When a new pope is elected, the sacristans at St. Peter’s Basilica polish all the candlesticks and altarware of brass, bronze, silver, and gold. They then do not polish them again throughout the Holy Father’s Pontificate. As the story goes, this is because when the man is elected as pope, he is radiant and new, shiny and bright. As he continues in his tenure as pope, they say, he will fade and grow dull. According to the story, like the altar candles, the zeal and holiness of the Holy Father is likely to tarnish and deteriorate.

In the Descent of God the Holy Spirit on Pentecost the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity is made manifest.

Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity was revealed in the mystery of the Incarnation. He is God made man; true God and true man. He is the Son who in the course of His earthly mission reveals God as the Eternal Father.

As Jesus prepares His apostles at the Last Supper for His departure; His Death and Resurrection, His glorious Ascension into Heaven, He promises that, together with the Father, He will send the Holy Spirit. (Jn 14:16; Jn 16:7)

Temptations and sins against purity can be an obstacle to living God’s call to holiness.

St Thomas Aquinas says that sins against purity are the most discouraging, because, by them, we find ourselves to be like the animals. As children of the heavenly Father, we are meant to live with a pure love that seeks the good of the other out of a motive of love for God. Jesus calls us to be “pure of heart.” (Mt 5:8)

Living holy purity is part of the Virtue called temperance. Temperance is that “cardinal” virtue in the Christian life that moderates the attractions and appetites, so that we use created things for their true and right purpose.  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1809). The habit or virtue of enjoying food or drink in moderation helps us ‘temper’ that appetite. So also chastity is the proper use of our sexuality according to our station in life. Sexual intimacy is proper to husband and wife who have formally sealed their life-long and exclusive fidelity to each other in marriage.

We often pray, at Mass, for an increase of vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. At the same time, we should pray for the grace of discernment for those called to Holy Matrimony.

We need priests. We need them to offer Holy Mass and to hear our Confessions. We need Religious Sisters and Brothers, and the many works of the Apostolate they carry out: teaching, health care, catechesis and evangelization.

We need married couples. They bring life into the world in accord with God’s plan to, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gn 1:28)

Thanksgiving is a secular holiday that nonetheless reminds us of the important Christian virtue of gratitude. The Greek word for giving thanks to God is the same word we use for the ‘Eucharist.’ For Catholics, the Holy Sacrifice of Christ is offered at Holy Mass as a thank-offering to God. Gratitude to God for our life, our faith, for all His gifts and blessings, can be an antidote against selfishness, envy, and giving in to sadness.  

I am grateful for acceptance; personal acceptance. Acceptance is the act by which someone receives a thing with approbation or approval. Acceptance is the essence of a gift. The gift is given and accepted. Acceptance links the giver and the one who receives and accepts.  

After 40 days of Lent, the Church celebrates 50 days of Easter, concluding the liturgical Season of Christ’s triumph at Pentecost. We hear the Alleluias freely and joyfully sung.  Easter provisions often include lilies and other colorful flowers; the Paschal or Easter Candle which was solemnly brought into the darkened church at Easter Vigil, stands lit, most appropriately near the lectern where the Gospel is proclaimed. 

The readings of this season are frequently drawn from the Acts of the Apostles, and provide us vignettes of the early Church; the exuberance of the followers of Christ who now have seen Him alive. The work of the Holy Spirit, manifest at Pentecost, is the dynamic power of the work of evangelization which spreads from Jerusalem and into all the known world. The Gospel readings recount the appearances of the Risen Jesus. He comes in the flesh. He is not a Ghost. (Lk 24:39) His wounds remain - reminders of the price of His love for us. The Apostle Thomas will touch them, (Jn 20:27-28), examine them, for the help of our own faith.