Passover, Easter make it a holy time

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The Christian “Holy Week” began Sunday, March 25, and each year this period of time reminds Christians of the Life and Passion of Jesus Christ, (including Holy Thursday and Good Friday), and His resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday…. Also during week, Friday, the 30th of March, the Jewish week of Passover begins when the people of the Jewish faith commemorate the saving of the first male born in each family from the angel of death, and the freedom of the Israelites from the slavery of the Egyptians, all provided by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.. ..
Three months ago, on Christmas Day, Christians commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ, and the word and name Emmanuel was used, which means, “God (is) with us”….Later in January, Epiphany was celebrated recognizing the realization or manifestation of “God in our midst” ...
The terrible incidents of violence which we have witnessed against the people of all ages in this country alone (and around the world) is a disgrace, and clearly shows that too many have become “Godless”, and do not have any respect for the sanctity of life. When our country removed the presence and reminders of “God with us”, from all public places, events, buildings, meetings, and gatherings, what did we expect to happen with our people, young and old? “Godlessness” results in a soul without a conscience, and one which does not know or recognize “right” from “wrong”.
Sadly in the secular American society, people are encouraged to be indifferent to, or to outright reject, religion or religious considerations and practices. When this occurs in a nation headed by a dictator, king, or other society controlled by a regime which will not permit the “freedom” of the practice of any religion or faith, we are NOT surprised. However, the United States of America was founded (“Under God”) by faith-filled people who understood the need and importance of having and recognizing the presence of God in their life each and every day.
Judeo-Christian values, beliefs, and principles, and the U.S. Constitution, guarantee the “freedom of religion”, and not “freedom from religion”. The founders, and generations past, ignored the temptation of secularism and submitted themselves to Him and His greatness, and acknowledged that real freedom and liberty came from the Creator (the Lord God), and not anything that this world had authored, and surely not any monarch, elected official, dictator, or other government philosophy or ideology. The move to “secularism” has turned people away from God, and yet we are called and reminded to give praise and thanksgiving to our Creator, and to love our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. In secular societies, man rejects God’s Greatness, with the belief that “man” can, and should, control his own destiny, and that “he (man) knows’’ better than our Creator what is in his best interests. This “pride” prevents man from being humble enough to submit to the love and caring of his Creator, and the acknowledgement of the actual source of all creation and life.
Today, both Christians and Jews are being persecuted for their beliefs and faith in many parts of the world. Personal attacks, assaults, and even murders have occurred to so many who, because of their Faith, are being targeted by those evil and fanatical individuals who are unwilling to accept the Faith or beliefs of another. The murders and torture of Christians and Jews in foreign lands is so sinful and evil, that no one, with a conscience, can understand or comprehend such actions by an allegedly “enlightened society”.
The exclusion of God from our vocabulary, society, and culture and any other recognition or reference, is prideful and arrogant since the gift of life we enjoy is the greatest gift each of us has received from God, our Creator. This is why “life” must be respected and protected, at all costs, from conception to natural death. A great theologian stated many years ago that “Right is still right if nobody is right; and wrong is wrong, if everybody is wrong!”
Holy Week and Passover, offers to each of us the opportunity to follow the example of Jesus Christ, who came into the world with nothing material, and left it in that same way. We can reflect, remember, and appreciate all of the many blessings which we have received in our life, and be thankful for the many times when we have been given the strength to endure those other times when we faced burdens, challenges, or obstacles in our life. All too many people are still trying to find satisfaction and happiness in this world from power, control, wealth, position, authority, or material possessions, and have left God out of their life. Some this week will focus on the ham, lamb, dyed eggs, chocolate rabbits, and candy to celebrate a “holiday.” We are invited and reminded by our religious observances to return to God and follow the example set by His Son to live a life which gives to the Creator the praise and thanksgiving deserved, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Each of us can make this week a “holy” (now through Easter Sunday and the week of Passover) time, by giving praise and thanksgiving to God and His Son, and replacing our “vices” with “virtues”. No one has been guaranteed an easy life without crosses to bear, but we are assured that as we encounter the challenges, obstacles, and difficulties of life, that God will never abandon, and has never abandoned, His Creation. We are called to be patient, tolerant, kind, courteous, loving, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving, just as our God has been with each of us in spite of our sinfulness, weaknesses, and failures. His mercy and forgiveness for each of us is unlimited, and only a simple request away.. . Remember: “Every Saint has a past, and every Sinner has a future.”

As the great psalmists wrote:

Bless the Lord, my soul;
All my being, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, my soul;
And do not forget all His gifts,
Who pardons all your sins,
And heals all your ills,
Who redeems your life from the pit,
And crowns you with mercy and compassion,
Who fills your days with good things…
The Lord does righteous deeds,
Brings justice to all the oppressed.
Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
Slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
He will not always accuse, and nurses no lasting anger;
He has not dealt with us as our sins merit,
nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.
For as the heavens tower over the earth,
So His mercy towers over those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our sins from us.
It has been said that “worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its suffering; it empties today of its strength.” …..Those who believe in God’s presence know that : “The Will of God will NOT take you where the Grace of God will not protect you!”
May you and your family have a peaceful and prayful Holy Week, and a Happy and Blessed Easter or Passover, with a strengthened Faith, and never-ending Hope, and everlasting Love.