In our Judaeo/Christian Tradition we notice that the great moments of God's inbreaking occurred in the darkness. In the book of Genesis, we read how God created light out of darkness. In the Exodus story, it was at night that Pharaoh sent for Moses to take his people and go into the wilderness. It was also during the night watch that Jesus, the Light of the World, was born. Finally, today's Gospel begins with the words: "Early in the morning while it was still dark. . ." In the darkness of the Easter morning, some disciples met the Risen Christ.

Two thousand years later, as followers of this same Christ, we are called to look for Christ and good things in dark places. Many of these "dark places" are familiar to us; e.g., loss of health or death of a loved one, loss of love and friendship, loss of meaning, loss of faith. For many others, the "dark places" might be family problems; e.g., an empty marriage, a sick child, a drug addicted child, an adult child with values very different from ours and with no direction in life, financial problems. The "dark place" might be an aging parent, caring continuously for a sick loved one with little or no support, fighting an addiction of some sort, quarreling neighbors - one could go on and on.

The Question Is . . .

Can we, in the spirit of Mary, Peter and John, visit that "dark place" or tomb and believe that good can come from it? Fortunately, to bolster or inspire our faith, we have lots of wonderful examples of people whose lives give a "resounding yes" to the above question. (The Resurrection is God's "resounding yes" to Jesus and all that he stood for, did, taught and went through.)

In the dark place of his prison cell, St. Paul wrote some of his best Epistles. The famous Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross wrote some of his best poetry in the darkness of his prison cell. I believe (but I don't know for sure) that Handel wrote part of his famous Messiah while in prison. It was while tending sheep on the lonely hills of Co. Antrin that God manifested himself to St. Patrick. These examples and millions of others down through the corridors of time, testify that "good things" can be discovered in "dark places."

In Our Own Country . . .

In our own country each year, thousands and thousands of people join in a support group of some kind because they, or a family member, are experiencing a problem of some kind. In the support group, they become vulnerable (like Jesus on the cross). They experience their powerlessness (like Jesus on the cross). They confront their pain and "dark place" and as they do so, they are greeted with support and love and gradually they are lifted out of their place of suffering and they begin to experience new life. There is nothing magical about the process. Rarely, if ever, is there a quick overnight transformation. Rather, any growth that happens to people going through tough times rarely, if ever, occurs easily or quickly. Rather, it occurs through lots of prayer and hard work and the support of friends.

So Again the important question is not so much . . .

. . . Do I believe that God raised up Jesus 2,000 years ago, but rather, do I believe that God can raise up someone like you and me? The existential question is not so much whether God empowered Jesus to come forth from the dark place of death, but rather, can you and I believe that God can empower us to come forth from our dark place of pain, sin and suffering? Hopefully, our answer is a "resounding yes." If so, we have Easter faith. If not, we are in need of some help and that is okay as long as we are willing to take a first step toward acquiring the faith that will sustain us when we are going through a tough stretch in the road.

Is there a stone that needs to be moved in your life?

Fr. Flor McCarthy tells the following story:

As the women disciples made their way to Jesus' tomb on Easter morning they had one big problem: Who would roll away the great stone that had been placed at the entrance to his tomb?

There was a man who had a row with his father, as a result of which he hadn't spoken to his father for several years, even though they lived only a few miles apart. He was an only child; the mother had deserted the family. So now the father was living alone. His world was getting smaller and darker with each day that passed. He wasn't yet dead, but in a sense he was already in the tomb.

We marvel at the power Jesus had to raise people from the dead, and rightly so. But in a sense we can do the same. For instance, the son in the story had the power to roll away the stone from his father's tomb. With a word or a gesture he could set him free from his tomb of loneliness and despair. And in helping his father he would have helped himself too. It is one of the lovely compensations of life that we cannot raise another without raising ourselves also.

AN EASTER HOUSE BLESSING
It is an excellent idea to bless your home even if it has been officially blessed before. We cannot ask God and his angels often enough to bless and protect our home and all who live in it. You can pray the following prayer before you share your Easter dinner or pray it at any other suitable time.

Gather those present together and pray the following blessing.

Now sprinkle the rooms of the house with holy water and then say: