And so we celebrated Easter a couple weeks ago, and on weekends I celebrate mass at a wonderful parish, Saint Robert Bellarmine, on the Northwest side of the city of Chicago. I’ve been a resident priest there for a number of years, and I simply love that parish community, and having the opportunity to celebrate the sacraments in the parish. And this past Easter was just wonderful.

I had the 10:00 morning mass and the noon mass. The church was packed and filled with the joy of the resurrection as we celebrated Easter, and at the 12:00 mass, in the communion line, there was a family that I know and they’re coming to receive communion. And they have a little daughter who’s about four years old. And what we do at Saint Robert’s, those who receive the Eucharist receive the Eucharist, and children who are not old enough yet, we give them a blessing.

And so the little girl came up to me, and she smiled and I smiled back. And she said to me, “I just need to tell you, I love your beautiful Easter dress. It’s yellow.” It was hard to keep my composure as I heard it. “I love your beautiful Easter, yellow dress.” Joy. The joy of children. The joy that children give to us. You know, the gospel says today that we are loved by Christ, and that we are to share that love with one another. And in the Easter season in a very particular way, the Lord gives us three gifts. Three gifts that we can share concretely with others, to demonstrate our love for God, and our love for one another, as the Gospel tells us to do.

One of the great gifts of the Easter season is the Lord gives us to the resurrection His Easter peace. He comes amongst His disciples, and he says, “Peace be with you.” He comes and he gathers with us, and He says, “Peace be with you.” He gives us a peace that the world can’t give. We’re told that in the Scriptures. It’s a peace that comes from the inside. It’s a peace that has the sure and certain knowledge that we’re loved by God. What can bring greater peace into our lives, than to know that we’re loved by God, and then to share that peace?

Another gift that’s given by the Lord during the Easter season is His presence, in a very special way. “I am with you until the end of time. I’m here, right now. When two or three are gathered, I’m right here with you. I’m right here, my presence, in the word that was just proclaimed. I’m right here with you, as I feed you with my body and blood, nourished in the Eucharist. I give you my presence to nourish you, to strengthen you, to do my work, and to share it with others.”

And the third beautiful gift that’s given to all of us in a particular way, in a beautiful way, during the Easter season is the power of the resurrection. The power to bring life to others. Jesus rises from the dead, and shares that life with all of us. He tells us as His followers, as His disciples, “Do now what I have done. Use the power of this new life, the power of the resurrection, bring it to the world. Bring it into your homes, into your schools, and into the workplace. Bring it to the poor. Proclaim the good news of The Risen Lord. Proclaim my good news. Share what you have learned from me with others. Make the world better through the power of the resurrection.”

As we gather the Eucharist to celebrate during the Easter season, we’re just so grateful to God for the gifts that come to us in this special way. Christ’s peace, Christ’s presence, and Christ’s power.