Today is the last day in Volunteer Appreciation Week. In recognition of the many, many people who give their time and their talents to Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, we hosted a lunch for our volunteers this past Monday. It was a lovely event. The food was excellent. There were goody bags and t-shirts for everyone, and speeches of gratitude from Michael, Steve, Jay and me. To the delight of everyone in attendance, there was even a picture projected onto the video screen of Steve’s baby son. He was smiling and wearing a onesie that said “Future HASK Volunteer.”

Perhaps it is the effect of the (very) warm weather we are experiencing, but the first week of Eastertide – the period between Easter Sunday and Ascension Day – is feeling particularly festive to me this year. I hope the same is true for you as well.

As you know, during our Lenten preparation for Easter, we often focus particularly on spiritual practices such as fasting, praying, and meditating on scripture. With the arrival of the Paschal Feast, we may have been particularly eager to give up any fasting practice we took on! And we may have quickly let go of any other Lenten disciplines we practiced as well. And this is as it should be – the cycle of fasting and feasting is integral to the practice of our faith. The disciplines we take on during times of preparation set us up to enjoy periods of feasting that much more!…

This coming Sunday, Passion/Palm Sunday, we will remember and celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This day is bittersweet for us because even as we read of the celebration we know that Friday is coming. The cross is coming. We know that many in the crowd that greeted him with within a few short days exchange words of praise to words of death….

On Tuesday of this past week, the New York Times published an article titled Heartbeat May Shape Our Perception of Time, Study Shows. Time, as we know from our own experience (if not our reading/viewing of science fiction!) is a relative concept. Sometimes it seems to race past us, and we don’t know how we got to where we are so quickly (i.e. the advance of the holidays in the fall when we are an adult). Other times, not so much (i.e. the same time period when we are children, waiting for Christmas)….

We are getting to that point in Lent when you might be flagging in your chosen discipline. Whether you’ve given something up or taken on a particular spiritual practice you may be having trouble sustaining it these days. Or perhaps you’ve forgotten altogether and are getting a guilty jolt just now from reading this! No matter what your personal situation is, you may enjoy this twist on the old legend about St. Patrick, whom we celebrate today….

When was the last time you thought about your relationship with the Lord? How is it? Do others see the light of Christ shining in your eyes and from your face? Do you serve the Lord letting your light shine in the darkness, or do you only allow it to shine in the light, among other Christians, where it may not be seen? Does your salt flavor the world or does it harm those around you?

We need to get out and salt the world and lead the lost to the light of Jesus Christ. If we are not doing so, then we need to ask the Lord to forgive us where we have failed Him….