"No one can take them out of my hand"

In preparing for this weekend's liturgies I am struck by the gospel and what transpiried this week in Boston.  I also say that this tragedy plays itslef out every minute around this earth; the evil that takes life!  I may focus on the events of this past week in Boston, but the heartbreak and sorrow is felt equally in every occasion regardless of place or person.

Jesus reminds us that he and God the Father are one.  Jesus as God-In-The-Flesh then also holds close every one who beleives in him. And for those who share in the divine life through baptism must do no less.  We must hold close all God's children in our own human hands.



Pope Francis sais this past week that "God is a real, concrete person, not some intangible essence or esoteric mist like "god-spray." God was present in the first responders in Boston but that is not enough.  God must be present in us all, so that not one of God's most precious creation, human life will be taken out of God's hand.

The real "Big Dance" & NIKA

Easter arrived on Sunday.  For me it is our real "Big Dance" as we are in the final days of the NCAA Basketball Championships.  There will be a winner.  There will be great celebrating for the winner and tears for the team that is defeated.  Barring another horrific injury as was suffered by Kevin Ware, the end of the contest should be emotionally and physically exhausting for all participants.  But there will still be one victor, one loser.

Easter brought its own victory for all believers, that being the victory over death. And in this contest that spanned over 3 decades, our team won!  We are ALL victors! We are all dancing towards heaven. I love dancing, and I hope to dance humbly towards the source of my very being. I hope my dance moves will be varied; slow dancing with one losing a loved one or enduring a terminal illness; a more lively dance keeping up with members of our "younger church" that shifts from joy, fear, anxiety, love, hate, and the entire spectrum of situations that some Gatorade along the way will be appreciated. I pray that my big dance will follow the moves of Jesus in his service moves towards others.  Holy Week gave us lessons better than any Arthur Murray course could give in the "dance". NIKA!  We are victors!