we are an Easter people

 

Years ago, I traveled to Turkey on assignment with an interfaith group of Catholic and Muslim faith leaders. Not only did we visit historical and Biblical sites throughout the country, we were also invited into family homes where we broke bread and shared faith with one another. 

 

For me, their open, loving, generous hospitality was truly humbling. And disarming! 

 

The questions we normally have about those we label as “Other” were being asked. But this time, they were being asked of me. 

 

I was the “Other.”

 

Why are there different Christian religions? Do all Christian families go to church? What do Christians believe? How do they practice their faith? As they asked question after question, genuinely desiring to understand a culture and a faith radically different from theirs, I could see and tangibly grasp our common humanity. 

 

I was also struck by how easily we separate ourselves from what we don’t understand—or are ignorant about. 

 

A different language. A different tradition. A different history. A different faith. A different experience, and of course, a different political view. 

 

We easily slip into an “us” versus “them” mentality and ignore our shared reality. 

 

Truth is, we all live what we know. 

 

We all die, eventually. 

 

We are all, literally, in this together. 

 

And I understood that I share a common vision with believers who are devoted, committed and faithful to their own faith experience, no matter what their religion.

 

For example, their call to prayer--their commitment to stop and pray throughout the day, made me look for ways that I could incorporate prayers into my own daily routine. Saying the angelus at noon. Contemplating the Divine Mercy chaplet at 3. Praying the Liturgy of the Hours Night Prayer as a family every night. 

 

I was genuinely surprised by their love, admiration and respect for Mother Mary, and this has given me much to ponder. 

 

In Ephesus, Mary’s house is a pilgrimage site for Muslims and Christians alike. It is holy ground, a place where we all gather to honor the mother of Jesus. How can *I* grow in my relationship with Mary of Nazareth? Can I incorporate and share with my family a holy reverence for the mother of our Lord?

 

One of the main concerns of the parents that we met was how to pass on their faith to their children, and what kind of world they will inherit from us. Like me, these parents ultimately pray and hope that their children have a vibrant, personal and intimate relationship with the God who created us. 

 

As we discern what it means to live what Pope Francis calls, “the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity,” the challenge remains not to lose who we are and what we believe as Catholics-- under the guise of unity. 

 

Instead, we are asked to live our own faith fully, to strive to become saints. 

 

For Catholic Christians, this means being Easter people, who believe our faith transforms all, even death. 

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Note: An edited version of this post was published in the “Just Live It” column of the April edition of Liguorian Magazine.