The title of the post seems to be the norm around these parts, doesn't it?
A quick snapshot of life right now, for old time's sake:
1. My heart is immensely full of Easter joy. Alleluia! Resurrexit, sicut dixit! This may have been my most fruitful Lent to date. The Diet Cokes from which I fasted for these forty days have never tasted better! In this forty-day sojourn in the desert there were little, unique moments when I felt especially that my good God was tugging fervently at my heart. Triduum especially was a grace-filled time, each liturgy more beautiful than the last (if that's even possible, of course!). I meet with my spiritual director tomorrow for the first time in three weeks, and I know there will be much to discuss!
2. Have you read the new English translation of the great Easter Proclamation, the Exultet? I most certainly recommend doing so. You can find text of the new translation at this link. It is about halfway down the page, and begins with "Exult, let them exult." It is a beautiful way to meditate more deeply on the profound realities of our Lord's Resurrection. Three cheers (and thanks be to God) for the New Translation of the Roman Missal, implemented just over four months ago!
3. Still flirting with the idea of going to Rome in June. At this point, it seems less likely than before, due much in part to the suddenly very real possibility of diving into the house-hunting foray and the need to save every - and I mean every - penny. My heart aches to be in Rome to share in the joy of our dear friend to be ordained to God's holy priesthood, and if God wants us to be there, we've entrusted the logistics to St. Joseph. If not, we're definitely planning a trip to wherever his first Mass is stateside!
4. My work, while often challenging, is really, really wonderful. I love my students and love the conversations that I have with them day in and day out. To encourage and affirm them in their journey to know Christ deeply is humbling and exhilarating. Things have begun to wind down significantly - after all, we're only about five weeks from the end of the academic year - but this is a time to invest individually in students and support them in any way possible as the year concludes. I look forward to what the remainder of the academic year brings, and what God has in store for my students next year!
5. Making a wedding album. This is something that is completely overdue - we've been married two and a half years already! I found a copy of our wedding program tonight as I was cleaning our bedroom and as I reminisced, made a resolution to create a wedding photo book online. I know it will be a long (and perhaps occasionally arduous) process - just started uploading the first of hundreds of digital negatives to a photo hosting website, and the upload process is already taking much longer than I wanted it to!
I think that's about all there is happening in life right now. Life is often ordinary, sometimes grueling, but mostly remarkable. There is something completely remarkable about the gift of each day - of each simple, monotonous, ordinary day. So grateful to my good God for the gift of so many ordinary days, full of extraordinary moments of grace. Thank you, Jesus, thank you!
O, death, where is your sting?
O, hell, where is your victory?
O, Church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night
O, Church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead, He's alive
He's alive!
- Matt Maher
