Today, millions of Christians all over the world celebrate the holiest day of their faith. Easter is the day that Jesus Christ rose from the grave after his crucifixion and ascended to Heaven. The idea of everlasting life after death for the Christian faithful is the cornerstone of Christianity. Though children scramble to find hidden Easter eggs today, the egg as a symbol of rebirth is appropriate. The egg is the sign of new life, and we should reflect on that today.
As we celebrate the life, death and rebirth of Jesus, we should also reflect on our lives during the past year. Just four days ago was the one-year anniversary of that horrible disaster, the BP oil spill. It threatened our economy, our health and our very way of life. Many of us have spent the past year cleaning up from the mess, and trying to get our lives back in order. There are still those whose lives will suffer for years to come because of what happened. But like Hurricane Katrina, most of us survived and had our own rebirth. We came back to our beloved parish to find destruction and ruin. And like Jesus, the parish has risen from the grave, and today is one of the fastest growing parishes in the state. It will be the same for the oil spill.
Today is the time to reflect on the miracle of the rebirth of not only St. Tammany Parish, but of the entire area. It is a day to reflect on the faith and strength of humans when faced with disaster. A lot of us found it hard to find hope in the middle of all these setbacks, but find it we did, and we were born again, stronger and better for the experience. Life is tough, that is a given, but humanity has a great capacity for faith and strength in the face of adversity. Not only have we survived one of the worst hurricanes in memory and the ecological disaster of the oil spill, but we also came through one of the worst recessions in U.S. history. Yes, we are still trying to straighten out our lives, but we do it with a smile and thanks to whatever entity we pray to, because we know that even with our possessions ruined, our lives shattered, we still have the strength of our faith to see us through anything.
You may think you have it rough, but remember there are Americans currently putting their lives on the line in foreign lands to protect us. Plus there are people all over their world enduring bullets and tear gas in an effort to become free. These people are also part of our rebirth and we should not forget them on this day.
So give thanks when you sit down to Easter dinner today, and remember that we are all worthy of rebirth if we work at it. Maybe we can all hope for the rebirth of our world into one of peace and prosperity.
