Easter
Originally delivered on March 26, 1989
In this homily, Fr. Healy tells us stories from past Easters, including many about his mother, and the lessons that he learned from those experiences. He reminds us that our laughter lifts us and that we might do well to take ourselves a little less seriously. We are the people called by God to bring joy and laughter to a weeping world.
Weekly Homilies 
April 2, 2010 at 11:32 am
Dear Frank, Hi, This is the first homily that I have listened to on your website, but not because I didn’t want to listen. Thank you for resurrecting Fr. Healy’s messages for me this Easter. Thank you for such a special gift that you have provided to everyone who comes to this site, whether we visit it only once in our lives or every day. I was thinking yesterday that we need to change how we celebrate Easter. We need to stop dwelling on Good Friday (which as a child I quickly surmised should be called “Bad Friday”). We don’t need to replay an “unfair” trial and prosecution – rather we need to learn NOT to reenact unfair trails and prosecutions in our personal and pubic lives: a much harder task, and the one that Fr. Healy asks us to do. Remembering hurt and holding grudges fits more with human nature when we are lazy. Showing compassion, forgiveness, and approaching our fallibility with a sense of humor takes a lot more effort. However I don’t think we should fill our collective memories of suffering and sacrifice with pleasure and indulgence as there needs to be balance. We should remember those who have gone before us, and who have tried to give us a message of how we can be better people who create a better world. We have the opportunity and obligation to show our gratitude through our work to change that imbalance for all in whatever way we are called to do so. Not all of us can (or should) become priests like Fr. Healy. Many woman cannot. Many men cannot. But we all have a purpose, and the first and often the hardest part is finding that place where our contributions can reach the people whose lives we were meant to touch. Thank you for sharing in the teaching/learning experience of that message with me over the past week. I appreciate Fr. Jim’s recognition of the parts we play in the drama of our lives. The part of this homily that moved me to tears is that we often have expectations and ideas about what we think our lives should look like, the order the events should play out, where we should be, who we should be, who we should be with, but poquito a poco, we find out what God’s plan is for us. I find solace in believing that we don’t know everything and we don’t have all the answers. It is comforting for me to be able to believe in forces that stretch infinitely beyond our human ability to know and understand. Whenever I have felt that I have reached our human limits (which can happen daily!) I am reminded by a voice (usually a female voice of my grandmother or mother from my childhood) to listen to my heart and to communicate with other people through their hearts. For me that is the “joyful determination” that Fr. Healy wants for us today and everyday. M.
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