Living out the Resurrection

by Brandon Ocampo

Happy Easter!

Yep, it’s still Easter. Easter is such a big event that the Church encourages us to celebrate it for another 8 days — an “Octave.”

Now, of course, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is worth that Octave and so much more! However, if the Church is celebrating the resurrection in this way, we have to ask ourselves: how are we celebrating, or living out, the resurrection in our own lives?

During Lent we’re asked to fast, pray more, and to give almsgiving. We’re also encouraged to give up something and even to take on something else, like a spiritual practice or devotion. Once Easter comes by, we shouldn’t just drop all the habits and devotions we’ve built up and nurtured during Lent! In fact, we should reassess our spiritual lives afterwards and see where we grew and still need to grow.

Here’s some questions to ask yourself to help you go beyond what you did during Lent in an effort to live out the resurrection in your own life:

• If you were able to fast during Lent, are you willing to fast one day a week to unite yourself to those who are suffering?
• If you prayed more during Lent, are you willing to go deeper in your relationship with Christ by praying a bit more for a longer time?
• If you gave more during Lent, are you willing to continue giving back to your parish/local ministry/pregnancy center, etc.?
• If you gave up something, is your life better without it? Would it harm any aspect of your life if you brought it back?
• If you took on something, would you be willing to keep it (or even tweak it a bit) so you could grow more as a disciple?

You don’t need to be legalistic with this in your own spiritual life; this is just a great opportunity to see where you can live out the love of God in a more concrete way — in the way you live and in the way you serve.

This Easter, let’s not just get rid of all of the progress we made during Lent. Let’s go deeper into the discipleship that the Lord is calling us to.