Open the Gates!
I imagine that all of us have had experiences where we are eager to open our doors for a much-anticipated guest. Prior to the guests’ arrival we work hard to prepare the rooms of our homes, to make some food to share and we plan some entertaining activities for our guests. There is much work to be done both before and after the event to make everything just right. Personally, the clean up duty is the least favorite part.
When I contemplate that very first Easter, I think about Jesus waking the sleepers, raising them from death and leading them to the gates of heaven as he escorted them to their eternal reward. Can you imagine the joy of so many souls as well as the song and dance of the angels upon the arrival of Jesus and the legions of early saints? Oh my, what a party that must have been!
Great news! That the party is still going on, and we are all invited to join the eternal feast, and there is no clean up duty. However, we all have a lot of work to do to prepare and we only have a limited amount of time to get things done.
Our lives are pages in a history book and we have an opportunity to use a pen that is handed to us by God himself to fill the pages of our books. The hard part is just picking up that pen every day. It’s easy to ignore the pen and not bother working on the story of our lives and instead we just let things happen. What seems to happen when we do that though, is we lose site of how great our story can be and instead we look at the next car, boat, electronic gadget, furniture item, TV show to watch, etc. that we can use or do to fill the spaces of our homes and lives. Our focus becomes blurry at that point as we look for things that will seemingly make us happy. The things get in our way and become obstacles to the grace that God is waiting to shower down upon us.
I have an invitation for you. Take a closer step to heaven every day. Repent and believe in the Gospel story fully. Let the first step you take each day be one of prayer. Invite someone to go with you on the journey. Make a friend, be a friend and bring that friend to Christ. Find partners that have the same goal of getting to the pearly gates and then let that pen soar on the pages of your life.
Our school invites new families to enroll now for the 2018-19 school year. We have a place for you and your family in our parish school. Come and experience Catholic education. Our school provides more than academic excellence, we provide a faith-based missionary experience for families that intentionally leads them towards heaven. We also have opportunities for all to support us in other ways including volunteering, financial support, prayer support, celebration of liturgies and much more. Our target is to Aim Higher, towards the Open Gates of Heaven!
~Principal Bruce Richards
