How is the Easter season going for you so far, friends? I hope it’s been a blessed time of rejoicing so far. As for me and my family, we had an amazing time at the Grand Easter Feast last Sunday! Here are a few photos, from :
I couldn’t help crying during Mass and the praise and worship — I was overwhelmed again at how much God loves me and my family. I am an imperfect, broken sinner, yet He still chooses to by my “Forever.” He still loves me and gives me chances every day to repent and renew myself.
Some of my biggest takeaways from the Grand Easter Feast (image credits go to the ):
Everyone has problems, right? Sometimes, we are so burdened by them that we end up wallowing in self-pity and negativity (like I was, just this past week — YES, what a way to “celebrate” Easter, I know! Thank God for His mercy and grace, though — He, through my family, helped me all the way!).
And while there are no “instant” solutions to our problems, we can carry on with hope, believing that God is at work, creating miracles for us and sending them our way at the exact time we need them. After all, He did say this:
And because He will never leave us nor forsake us, we can be assured that He will be with us throughout all our trials and sufferings.
But you know what really, really struck me during the Grand Easter Feast?
It was these words:
More than receiving miracles, God wants us to be miracles to others.
You’d think that after more than 10 years of fulltime ministry work, I’d remember this every day, even if I’m not a fulltimer anymore.
But the reality is, I don’t. Heck, I even forget to be a miracle to my own husband and kids. Every.single.day.
In fact, instead of “refreshing” them, I become a source of stress. Of criticism. Of pain. Of suffering.
I get impatient and angry and “lose it.” I yell and say mean things (and become a “misbehaving adult,” as my friends who conduct Positive Discipline workshops would say).
So it was great to be reminded of my greatest “mission” in life: to be a Kingdom-Seeker (living out Matthew 6:33), and help my family to do the same (especially my kids)! And also, this:
This is one of the reasons why I consider my blog, my writing, my , and my soon-to-be-launched online TV show as my “mission field.” Being a hands-on mom with no helper/yaya, I can’t really be “out there,” doing mission in far-off places like I used to when I was still single. (I know there are families who do do this though, and some of them are even friends of mine. But that’s not our family’s calling right now.)
So I’m going to make do with what I can for now, and thanks to the Internet, I hope to still be a “miracle” to the wounded outside the Church, even if I’m just at home, typing away on my laptop. 😉 (Though going on mission again as a family can still happen — if it’s God’s will!)
Today, Easter Saturday, is the last day of the Octave of Easter, and tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday. God calls us to be instruments of His Divine Mercy to others, but we need to soak ourselves in His mercy and love first. We all need to remember this:
God is our Forever. His love knows no bounds. His grace is sufficient. His mercy is limitless.
And speaking of His mercy, I thought I’d share the following links to help you celebrate the great feast of the Divine Mercy tomorrow:
Catholic Culture: Find more information about the feast, plus links to prayers, activities, related readings, and even recipes!
: Catholic blogger and mom Lacy Rabideau has great ideas for celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday (and Saint John Paul II, because he instituted Divine Mercy Sunday) with kids.
Family Formation: This downloadable PDF document contains worksheets that help teach kids about the Divine Mercy, plus the corporal and spiritual acts of mercy. I love the fact that the makers emphasize the importance of dads in making the “lessons” in the worksheets meaningful!
Saint-Faustina.com: This page has 3 coloring pages featuring the following: the image of the Divine Mercy, Saint Faustina, and Pope John Paul II. It also has two word search activities.
May we never, ever forget God’s great mercy, compassion and love for us, and may we become channels of His mercy, compassion and love to others!
It was my first time to attend The Feast’s Lenten Retreat this year, and I was slightly afraid of public worship. But oh was I deeply touched by the intelligent talks and songs! Fighting back tears the entire time, knowing God was calling me closer to know Him. Thank you, Tina, for your blog! So grateful for those who lead by example like you! Every post nourishes.
Trina!!!!! 🙂 You are SO blessed that you were able to attend the Retreat! Was it the one given by Bro. Bo at PICC, or another one? Praise God for using the retreat to touch you. 🙂 God ALWAYS calls us to be closer to Him — sometimes lang, we are too “busy” to notice (and yes, that includes me!). 🙂 Praise God for your kind words. I am but His imperfect, unworthy servant — that is ALL I am. Praise God for His greatness! God bless you always!