Thanks to the Italian heritage from my mother’s side of our family, I am familiar with the phrase “Marzo pazzo,” which translates “crazy March.” Most applied it to the weather, as one rarely knew whether a particular day would bring, snow, cold and rain, or sunshine. It was unpredictable, crazy.
Marzo pazzo can be an appropriate image for our daily lives when we ricochet from extreme experiences marked by fear, trouble, stress and anxiety. Rarely are we able to land at a place where we’re totally at peace.
During late March, I had administered the sacrament of confirmation on five consecutive evenings in parishes from Newport News to Virginia Beach to Onley. I enjoyed the peaceful beauty as I drove through the area, getting a feel for the distance between our parishes and just becoming familiar with the geography.
But on the afternoon of Thursday, March 31, that peacefulness was disrupted when I received a phone call telling me that there were tornado warnings in the Richmond area and that people were taking cover. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but there it was — Marzo pazzo!
With all of the turbulence that can engulf us, I welcome the serenity that comes with the Easter season. Unlike Advent and the Christmas season during which we are pulled in different directions, e.g., social gatherings, gift buying and giving, etc., the Easter season focuses on the Paschal Mystery — the heart of our faith.
Each of the observances leading up to Easter — Palm Sunday, the Chrism Mass, Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum — with their emphasis on prayer and special liturgical celebrations emphasizing some particular facet or aspect of the Paschal Mystery that is integrated into our whole experience of salvation.
As much as there is a lot of preparation for and celebration of various liturgies from Palm Sunday to the Octave of Easter, I have never felt scattered or pulled in many directions as I sometimes do during Advent and Christmas. Because of that, I’ve always found Easter to be a much more peaceful time of year.
The hope for peace in recent months has also been affected by the tragedy and trauma of war in Eastern Europe. When we see the brutality of war and the harm that humans inflict upon one another, what happened to our Lord on Good Friday might seem distant, maybe even a little unreal. But the trauma and confusion of the crucifixion was just as real, confusing and destructive as the images we see of war and death today!
This is why the resurrection is such an extraordinary event. After the confusion and fear, after hearts and relationships were ripped apart by betrayal and human weakness, the Lord still stands before his apostles and says, “Peace be with you!”
This peace comes through our reconciliation with God as well as through our desire to have reconciliation with those we have hurt — and with those who have hurt us. This peace is made possible by the passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord by his Paschal Mystery. It is the fruit of our acceptance by faith of Christ’s power to overcome sin and the evil it causes.
Let “Peace be with you!” be not only your words, but may they be evident in how you live your life and in how you treat everyone you meet.
May you have a blessed and joy-filled Easter season.