.

It is of the nature of the ministry of a priest that it’s often only later, even years later, when we learn that a word or a gesture years ago, often forgotten by us, was of profound and even life-changing significance for the one who tells of it later.

Almost twenty years after I left my first appointment (Greymouth) a parishioner mentioned than in 1986 on the thirtieth rainy Sunday in a row I had commented that perhaps God is allowing the wet Sunday’s to get us all to slow down and take some sabbath rest!  Of course I didn’t remember making the comment but all those years later John told me that his weekend life had changed because of my comment and he now relaxed into rest whenever it rained on a Sunday.

I could easily add another half dozen similar examples, each of which have added to my confidence that even (and perhaps especially) when I can’t see it, God is at work in a casual comment, a word, a gesture.

I had this experience yesterday when inviting you to join me for an Easter Week retreat and to send in initials of those for whom you would like us to all pray for in this week. Throughout the day I was overwhelmed by emails including initials, many adding messages, around 200 emails inviting prayers for 800+ people.

I am very moved by your extraordinary participation, and I invite you all, in your five-minutes a couple of times each day this week, to remind God to read this list and to hold each of these people in the Easter embrace of his abundant and divine love.

Every set of initials is the name of a person, one who loved and loves and is loved, one who lived through experiences of Good Friday suffering and death and who tasted resurrection.

These are our sisters and brothers, our friends, our own intimate Communion of Saints through these days of Easter Octive.

Add initials to the list below by sending me an email john@fff.org.nz

An invitation to take this week,
the Easter Octave,
as an opportunity to experience
the risen Jesus with you
in every hour.

Set five minutes
twice a day
Diary these appointments with Jesus
and make these encounters
your priority this Easter Week.

Here’s an Easter treat – a brief video reflection at this link and in downloadable poster form at this link.

Click on the image below to enlarge: