I Do?!

It's that time of year again.

As we prepare to enter into the Triduum, we are asked to consider the reality of our faith. Not that this isn't what we are called to daily, but during these liturgies the tenets of our Christian faith come to forefront as we are asked to stand and say "I do" to some pretty big stuff.

Do you believe in God?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
Do you believe in the forgiveness of sin?
Do you believe in the communion of saints?

We know that we will stand and say "I do" to these questions on Saturday night or Sunday morning, but what we do not know is how we will be called to live out these beliefs in the year ahead. The Paschal Mystery does not just end on Easter Sunday!

It is so easy to say that we believe what we do, but do we truly comprehend how bold it is to say it? Do we honestly comprehend the enormity? We watch yet another terrorist attack, this time in Brussels. We read about a presidential candidate who would delight in being unwelcoming toward our brothers and sisters. We live in the realities of our own city streets, wherever they may be. And, we are called to find God in all of this.

Before we know what will come, we say, "I do." I do believe in God, in Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in the forgiveness of sin, in the communion of saints. I do.

When I do, it means that I am called to respond to whatever comes in a very unique way, a way that does not always match the way others respond. I will not respond in fear or in hatred to the events of life. I will respond in trust and in love.

Let us pray with the "I do's" to which we are about to give voice. Let us contemplate their enormity. Let us live into the reality of these words. Let us utter them boldly with faith, trust and love.

Let us walk in the holy presence.