All Sundays this April are named Easter — Second Sunday of Easter, Third Sunday of Easter, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Easter. It’s a Christian’s dream, a continued celebration that Christ is Risen! He died for our sins and really, what more could we ever ask for? As humans, it seems, there’s always more to ask for. Some of our “asks” are very serious: “Please God, send a cure for cancer.” “Please God, forgive me.” And others are less serious but still important. For Colorado gardeners, a common petition is, “Please God send us rain for our gardens.”

VIRGINIA. Serenity Quesnelle saw six fertility doctors, went through multiple procedures and braved surgery in the hopes of conceiving a child. After four years, one of her doctors felt that nothing more could be done and asked Quesnelle to write down the number of a nearby in vitro fertilization clinic. But Quesnelle and her husband didn’t want to go through IVF, a process that often results in the destruction of unborn lives. She wanted to find out what was going on in her body.

Once in a while we encounter a book whose insight and teaching clarity demand a larger audience. Such is “The Bible and Reconciliation,” by Dr. James Prothro, a professor at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology. In this new book, I have come to see the kindness of God’s mercy, forgiveness, and understanding radiate through Prothro’s words and writings, as well the need for reconciliation in our hearts, our souls, our churches, and our culture.

Finally on the gardener’s calendar comes March. New plants are breaking through the soil and days are warming up. After all, it is the season of resurrection! Christians around the world are celebrating Holy Week and are preparing for Easter. It is truly a blessed time of year. 

Morning Mass is not celebrated anywhere in the world on Holy Saturday. Sorrowfully, the Church Universal pauses in her liturgical life, recalling the forty hours when Jesus was dead and buried. Altars, stripped on Holy Thursday, remain bare; candles and decorations removed.

The Church is in mourning.