Joy of Easter

Bishop Robert Barron is auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the founder of the Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire. While the title of his feature essay in the Wall Street Journal on the Easter Vigil threw me for a moment, a close read provided one of the most spirited, uplifting and reaffirming Easter statements/homilies I've heard.

Recovering the Strangeness of Easter - W.

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Barron strikes a perfect balance between religious faith and rational enlightenment in a fashion I don't believe I've ever seen before. Quite uplifting, reaffirming. Easter has always been a clear sign of spring, regardless of the weather on that day. Three years ago on this date, we had five inches of snow and from our days in western New York, I recall Easters with snow as well as Easters with bright green growth and blue skies, no that different from Christmas experiences, other than Christmas was always distinctively colder.

We just finished our second Lenten season under the auspices of erratic and often irrational public health policies, reflecting the diversity of the local Covid patterns and the insanity of pious, 'progressive' politicians seemingly clueless re science and clearly more interested in their own power and control than in the economic, social, medical and emotional welfare of their constituents, and not to overlook their stunning hypocrisy.

Despite the ego, arrogance and absence of accountability of the progressive politicians and their unscientific experts, there is good reason for joy and optimism. Already some of the wheels are wobbling on the progressive bus, economic and employment figures look strong, Trump's miraculous vaccines are permeating the entire country (in contrast to the forecasts of the 'experts' just six months ago), and evidence that overall mortality rates in 2020 were not above their pre-Covid forecasts of about 9 deaths per 1,000 Americans in 2020. Clearly, there are plenty of deaths WITH Covid, but the deaths FROM Covid become more unconvincing, with all the data on average age of Covid-accompanied victims, their BMI, and other pre-existing, contributing causes of death.

As a family we are also opening up, and making bold moves: me to Washington last week, Jane and Dena to visit Gaby in New Los Angeles in ten days, Jane moving to Juneau in mid-May, Peter and Gaby flying to New York for Memorial Day weekend,, the entire clan gathering in Westwood to celebrate Gaby's college graduation in mid-June, and a proposed family get together in Juneau in mid-July, just before Gaby settles into her job with T Rowe Price in NYC in August.

On a routine if not daily basis, I offer a regular rosary and have been pretty consistent with Mass at Holy Spirit Darboy on Tuesday evening and Wednesday and Friday mornings, sometimes on Thursday morning as well and Sunday online Mass from Darboy at 7:30 a.m. On other days, e.g., Saturday and Monday, I enjoy the online Mass from St Thomas in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

After a pretty good run, I have not been engaged in Hank's Thursday psalms of late. Earlier engagement with the Daily Office, Mass from Toronto. rosaries from St Joseph, and other online efforts have pretty much fallen by the proverbial wayside.

Best bottom line is Fr Carl, his positive spirit of joy, and the successful, in-person academic year of Holy Spirit school.