The Way to Abundant Life
Break Open the Tomb
Lord of Easter's Promise,
I live in faith of the Resurrection,
but such is the nature of my faith
that so much of me remains entombed.
Break open the tomb.
Where I've buried my compassion, break open the tomb.
Where I've buried my sense of mercy, break open the tomb.
Where I've buried my humility, break open the tomb.
Where I've buried my humanity, break open the tomb.
Where I've buried my love for my Heavenly Father, break open the tomb.
Where I've buried my sense of joy, break open the tomb.
Where I've buried my willingness to forgive, break open the tomb.
Lord, in you I've found a Savior no grave can withstand.
Help me to roll away this stone
And find the miracle of new life
That I may live more fully in your saving grace
Amen.
Source: Catholic Relief Services
"THE WAY TO ABUNDANT LIFE"
"I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26)
How is your way of life working for you?
We look at Christ’s resurrection from death two thousand years ago as a promise of eternal life for us after we physically die on earth. However, we sometimes forget that Christ came that we might have abundant life now (John 10:10).
A true, abundant life is one lived and modeled on the person of Jesus Christ. It is a life where we can begin to experience now God’s paramount spiritual reality of abundant love, joy, freedom, justice, peace, mercy, compassion, healing, forgiveness, patience, kindness, generosity, salvation, and many other blessings.
It begins when we see clearly the masks—-those distorted images, perceptions, desires, and realities—we have created in our own minds to justify ourselves and meet the expectations of society or others. We can experience God’s spiritual reality in our lives when we let go of our self-centered egos and our pursuit of inordinate pleasures, power, prestige, and possessions that will never satisfy our quest for a meaningful and purpose-filled life , but will ultimately only enslave us.
Through God’s grace and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we begin to live our lives consistent with the reality of who we are—daughters and sons of our Creator God who unconditionally loves us and sustains each of us. God wants nothing less for us than to fully become the person who God created us to be—a person who freely chooses to have, live, and grow in meaningful, purposeful, and love-filled relationships with God, with others, with ourselves, and with all of Creation.
Dying to old ways of thinking and acting, we come to embrace the Way and have the same attitude of Jesus (Phil 2:5). It is a Way and an attitude lived in simplicity, always striving to do God’s will, to bring about God’s reality for our time and place and in our spheres of influence. It is living in the present moment. It is teaching and speaking truth and striving for justice and peace no matter the personal cost. It is welcoming and reaching out with self-sacrificial love and compassion to the excluded, the stranger, the homeless, the impoverished, the persecuted, the immigrant and others in need, bringing healing and being present with them in their suffering.
We do not travel this journey alone. Instead, we are empowered through God’s indwelling Holy Spirit and nourished through God’s Word and sacraments as we journey in communion with our sisters and brothers in Christ. Together we commit ourselves to this Way of being and living, united as one in Christ, where we welcome, support, challenge, celebrate, and collectively share with one another our individual gifts, talents, and material possessions. This Way is not always easy, but what God has prepared for us is beyond anything we can possibly imagine (1 Cor 2:9). It is a Way leading us to abundant life now and to eternal life with God.