Heartfelt devotion is not just a warm fuzzy. It means to go to God exactly as we are, not hiding something, not pretending to “just fine,” not afraid.

Heartfelt devotion is not just a warm fuzzy. It means to go to God exactly as we are, not hiding something, not pretending to “just fine,” not afraid.

Sure - let God do all the work, but there's one important thing that has to happen first. We have to participate. We've got to cooperate with His plan! So go ahead, get fertilized and put yourself in a bigger pot - see what joys God has for you!

We were made and meant to live in the joys of heaven now! How? By letting the Shepherd lead us.

In the prayer, we tell God that with our renewed "youthfulness of spirit" we rejoice forever in our restored adoptioin. "Youthfulness of spirit" is being like a kid again. Let yourself go! Rejoice in our Father's love!

Notice, too, the three times we hear the word rejoice in the prayer. If we're not joyful people, we need to make some changes.

Three things the Church wants us to understand and grasp: the font, the Spirit, and the Blood. Our freedom comes from the womb that is the tomb. Not the tomb of death, but the tomb of Resurrection power.

At Easter Vigil we hear how God opened the doors to set captives free. In the Collect for Easter Mass, we hear how God opened the doors to eternity. They are the same doors!

As Resurrection people, we, too, are made new creatures, called and equipped to carry on the mission of Jesus.

How many times have you been a patient sufferer? How many patient sufferers do you know? What if our patient suffering is what makes us partakers in Resurrection Glory?

I'm not going to ask for extra suffering, but I will use what I have much more efficiently!

Did Jesus need to be convinced or did He eagerly desire to be our salvation? Of those two, which one do we ask for in this week's Collect?