Celebrate Easter that Christ gave us.

For most of our world, Easter is over now. It's back to normal life.  Yesterday sms messages were generously exchanged wishing each other Happy Easter, celebrating the Risen Lord and proclaiming the victory od Christ over sin and death and praising Jesus Christ for giving us salvation by dying for our sins Have you ever considered that Easter which means risen life is also applicable in our normal life. Jesus is risen! He, "the Resurrection," is now our "Life" (John 11:25).  Why not study the resurrection appearances of Jesus. The theme of mission dominates Jesus' resurrection appearances. Post-resurrection, Jesus sends His disciples out."Go and carry the news" (Matthew 28:10)."Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:19).  Go and "feed my lambs" (John 21:15)."Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15)."Penance for the remission of sins is to be preached to all the nations...You are witnesses of this" (Luke 24:47-48)."Go to My brothers and tell them" (John 20:17)."As the Father has sent Me, so I send you" (John 20:21)."You are to be My witnesses...to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).In the Emmaus appearance, Jesus never mentions "mission". Instead, He celebrates Mass, a word meaning "sent." The disciples get the message, for after Mass, they immediately hit the road and spread the good news (Luke 24:33).

We can start by telling people about Jesus, we can do it in our own ways, and need not graduate from an evangelist training to tell our friends, family and colleagues how Jesus had worked miracles in our own lives and how much we love and need Jesus. Allow me to share something I have been doing quite successfully the last few Easter. For me living the risen live is by choosing to get rid of (to give up) one of my many sinful habits and honor it with all my determination, it is not easy. But through constant prayer and strong will, thanks to our Lord, I have made good progress. For the last few years, each Easter I select one bad habit that is either sinful, or one that put me in an environment to be tempted to sin, and worked hard to abstain from it and give up that habit forever. So far so good, and you know what, come the next Easter, I can truly feel the celebration of conquest over sin by getting rid of that 1 habit that had lead me to sin in the past. My tiny victory over sin made me even more determine to eradicate it from my life. And this gives me confidence to take on another one at Easter and the next Easter yet another, maybe even 2. I find that I can move slowly closer and closer to the way Lord Jesus wants us to live. 
Of course I have to do it with Jesus asking Jesus to fill my heart with such love for Him that I can keep my determination to eliminate my habitual sinning consistently. 

 Celebrate Easter by living the risen life Christ gave us.