After yesterday’s graduation ceremony in Lander, we made our way over Togwotee Pass down into Jackson for an evening celebration of Confirmation. The flats coming into Jackson were full of elk and buffalo, while the Tetons were humbly veiled in heavy cloud cover. No matter the weather, this is always a beautiful drive!
Confirmation Class, Our Lady of the Mountains, Jackson
I believe 44 students received the sacrament of Confirmation last night. It was a full church! Probably half of the class were from our Hispanic family, which certainly seems to keep growing in this part of the Church. More and more, it seems I never get to the reception following Confirmations because of the amount of time visiting and taking pictures after the ceremony. This crowd last night seemed most interested in getting their picture taken with the bishop. The two most dreaded words of that time of day are always: “One more!”
As this Easter season continues, I am continually drawn in prayer to reflect upon the Life of the Risen Christ and the mysterious way He is always at work drawing us deeper into this Life of God. As the Christian journey is meant to be a full giving of self in love, it can and does become wearisome at times.
It is precisely this Life of the Risen Christ within us that we are to ‘tap into’ for the strength to continue our work and ministry. I believe this is what St. Paul meant when he said in one of his epistles: “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.”
With this in mind, Christians also must bear in mind the vigilance required to nurture and protect this Divine Life shared with us. It is as a flame within us that can be extinguished through sin. Just as easily, through our free will cooperation with God, the flame can be fanned into a fire that consumes any and all things within us that resist the Lord and His will.
Today’s office of readings from the First Letter of St. John speaks to the reality of sin and its serious consequence. “If we say, ‘We have fellowship with him,’ while continuing to walk in darkness, we are liars and do not act in truth. But if we walk in light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with on another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.”
So, my dear friends, let us walk in true fellowship with Christ. Seek Sacramental Reconciliation when falling into sin. Strive to live always in Christ’s light, cooperating with His grace. Pray for a profound knowledge of God’s will and the grace to accomplish it fully in your life. Keep pursuit of holiness as a daily priority, and in due time, we shall know the fullness of God in His presence!
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