"On the third day he will raise us up to live in his presence."...(Hosea 6:2)
In the 1980's Pope John Paul II started World Youth Days. His intention was to invigorate youth with Christ
and eventually these days mushroomed into a week long gathering of youth from around the world. It is not
uncommon for millions of people to partake in these youth days, which are held every 2-3 years. I remember
being in Paris in 1997 for World Youth Day. It was evening and I had offered to hear confessions to our youth.
I was sitting on the grass in a park about two hundred yards away from the beautifully lighted Eiffel Tower.
One kid just finished sharing a great depth of pain and I began to pray the prayer of absolution. Just as I
began to pray that I heard a Spanish song coming from the base of the Eiffel Tower, "Resucito, Resucito,
Resucito, Alleluia." Needless to say, chills of God's power rushed through me. Translated, the words
of the song mean, "Resurrection, Resurrection, Resurrection, Praise the Lord."" And that is what was
happening through the gift of absolution in the sacrament of reconciliation. The power of resurrection
forgiveness was swooping in to take away sin and offer healing.
The reality is that we live in a world darkened by sin. Whether we bring the darkness on ourselves through
our own sin or we are affected by someone else's sin, we see and are touched by that darkness each day. That
can become a heavy, heavy burden if there is not way out - no light at the end of the tunnel. How many of us
are living in a tunnel of darkness and do not see any light at the end of it?
In this darkness, we are a people who look to the third day. Jesus goes into the depths of the tunnel on the
day of his death, Good Friday. But, Friday is not the last day. As we go through the Friday of this life,
we know that Sunday is a coming! Sunday is the last day - it is Resurrection Day! It is the day that knows
no end. It is light upon light. There is no more darkness there. It is the day we are made for - we are a
Sunday people!
You are not seeing much light as you journey through the darkness that this life can be? Go and make a good
confession. Move to the LIGHT. Grow in what it means that we are a Sunday people.
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