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Every Land, Every People

It's hard not to be overcome with paschal joy. Jesus rose from the dead; whatever reasons I have to be downcast just don't compare. Joy is different than a momentary feeling of happiness, or pleasure. I can remember watching the Cardinals win the World Series in 2006. For a split second, I thought I had never been so happy in my whole life. But it was part of a second. The next few seconds and minutes and hours were much like the seconds, minutes, and hours before. No new reality had been created. Something reminded me--whatever it was--that it's only baseball, and in the grand scheme, baseball isn't that important.

Let me emphasize that I love baseball, and specifically Cardinals baseball, more than you do. I see different things when I watch a game, that more than likely, a casual observer would not see. I say this so you understand that I'm not getting spiritual in contrast to a thing I'm indifferent about. At some infinitely lesser level, I live and die with the Cardinals. Still, take away the Cardinals, and I'll move on. Take away the Mass I attend each day, and I would have to say you have taken life from my body and soul.

If there is any part of you that believes likewise, may that part increase. It wasn't long ago that I went to Mass because I was afraid of the devil. I was afraid of my weakness before numerous temptations. Now, however, I seem to see the Lord literally drawing people to Himself, and I am a witness. The paschal mystery is the only reality of love in this world. Other loves are a copy--great as they may be--or a fabrication.
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