It can feel a bit jarring: The 40 days of Lent suddenly give way to the joy of Easter. The seeds of our prayer, fasting and almsgiving burst into bloom, and we stand in wonder at the Risen Christ. God triumphs over death. And yet, for so many of us, the sacrifices and challenges of Lent seem to march on, interminable. Easter Sunday feels like one more day, just the same as the last. But it’s not. Our God of surprises beckons us forward, invites us to step into something new. And jarring as it may feel, in this seemingly hidden juxtaposition between fasting and flourishing, almsgiving and Alleluia, the Spirit is still at work, still creating something new 鈥� even if we cannot yet see it.
We invite you to use these Ignatian resources on your Easter journey.
An Easter Prayer
By Cameron Bellm
When Lazarus stepped out of the tomb,
He was still wrapped in burial cloths鈥�
鈥淯nbind him,鈥� Jesus said, 鈥渁nd let him go.鈥�
What bewilderment Peter and John must have felt, then,
When they saw the linen shroud of the Lord left behind.
This was no resurrection, not as they knew it.
In that year and in this one, Jesus must have known
That we need our sorrow affirmed and embraced
Before we can enter into the possibility of hope.
He left that cloth there for us, I imagine,
To assure us that the Good Friday grief is real,
And the Easter joy therefore all the greater鈥�
Christ unbound, so that we may also be free.
Amen.
鈥淚n Praise Of鈥� Ebook
The 34 reflections by our Jesuit Media Lab writers in our Lenten series 鈥淚n Praise Of: Ignatian Letters of Recommendation for the Spiritual鈥� speak to every season. That鈥檚 why we鈥檝e compiled the essays and art into an ebook that you can download 鈥� or order a paperback 鈥� and return to them anytime you like.
Inspired by the Jesuit quest to find God in all things, 鈥淚n Praise Of鈥� is a celebration of the normal, grace-filled stuff that makes up a life. And the book is also an invitation for readers to notice and give thanks for the little things of underappreciated value in their own lives.
Easter Season Zoom Theatre Retreat
Celebrate the Easter season and prepare for Pentecost with a Jesuit Media Lab Zoom theatre retreat on Tom Stoppard鈥檚 1993 classic 鈥淎rcadia.鈥�
Over two nights, gather with other Jesuit Media Lab fans to perform 鈥淎rcadia,鈥� a play that explores time, death and renewal. Stoppard layers past and present in the same space, suggesting that what seems lost is never entirely gone 鈥� echoing resurrection themes.
A Jesuit鈥檚 Easter Playlist
By Nate Cortas, SJ
From one Sunday to the next in Lent, we hear stories of Jesus encountering people in seemingly impossible situations, people who have all but given up hope. We meet the Pharisees all too eager to condemn Jesus even as he heals, the woman at the well alone and thirsty, the mourners outside Lazarus鈥� sealed tomb.
It can be easy to look at ourselves, our neighborhoods, or our world and feel the same sense of heavy dread 鈥� we know our own capacity for condemnation, for isolation, for hopelessness all too well. But over and over again, in the Gospels and in our lives, Jesus reminds us that he is doing something new. Incredibly, God heals our brokenness, pours out living water, calls us forth from our tombs, and rolls away the stone on the third day.
At Easter we celebrate how God works in all these strange and delightful ways 鈥� ways worth our best singing and shouting, grooving and getting down. Here are a few tracks to enjoy in the long, joyful season to come.
AMDG Podcast: A Strategic, Ignatian Path to Easter Joy with Lisa Kelly
Lisa Kelly, author and the co-director of the nonprofit helps us think in new ways about our own lives and helps us ferret out some unhealthy spiritualities of desolation in which we may unknowingly be trapped.
