Jesus is Risen!  Jesus is Alive! 

In essence, this is why I consider myself an optimist.  There is always hope.  There is always a better way– that is what Jesus gave us when he died for us.  Jesus gives us hope and a new way of living.  Jesus showed us that there is a way to transcend all that we ask for as humans- to remain firmly planted in God.  Because of what Jesus did for us, we have been given the opportunity to be in relationship with the Divine. 

It is only in faith that we can refuse to accept things as they are, and it is only in faith that we believe that God’s love will make all things new. 

  The words below are from Richard Rohr’s daily mediation from Monday.  I am moved deeply by his words as we enter into the Easter Season.

“In the Risen Christ, God reveals the final state of reality. God forbids us to accept “as-it-is” in favor of “what-God’s-love-can-make-it.” To believe in Resurrection means to cross and transcend boundaries. Because of the promise of the Resurrection of Jesus we realistically can have a passion for the possible.


The risen Christ reveals the true meaning of this world: paradise regained. The Resurrection is heaven here and now—created, offered, and invited into by a Trinitarian God. Christ is not rising up to some preexistent place, but he is defining in himself the longings of every human heart—a real sharing of life between the human and the Divine (see Revelation 21:1-7). 

We should not just believe in some kind of survival or immortality but Resurrection, an utterly new creation, a transformation into Love that is promised as the final chapter of all history. That is why a true Christian has to be an optimist.”

Will we embrace Jesus’ resurrection?
Will we embrace the new life that God will provide for us?
Will we refuse to accept things as they are, and instead, have faith in what God could provide? 

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.