đđ«đ€ May the peace of Christâs glorious resurrection be with you. Happy Easter! It was so great to be back in church this year to celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass. The Easter Vigil Mass, above all others, fills my spirit beyond words. Itâs usually twice as long as a regular Mass, but we get to start with a fire and assemble the new Easter candle, work through more Bible reading, and renew our Baptismal Promises. You know, those promises arenât necessarily something we think of too often and itâs even less that we say them out loud. Saturday night, when we renewed our Promises, what overwhelmed me was the sound of authority in the voices around me. Thatâs what God needs from us, sold out believers. I thought about that again at work yesterday when I was working in a system, I hit the + key to add a new code, but the screen didnât shift down so that I could see the new line. In the past, I would stop what I was doing to scroll the page so that I could see what I was working with. But yesterday I thought to myself, âYou know the line is there. Trust that it is and keep moving forward.â Immediately following that, âJust like your faith. You donât have to see to know that He is here.â Trust and keep moving forward!
Youâre Baptismal Promises have opened up many doors for you. Some that you have seen and purposefully chose to open and others that to this day, you never knew existed. But none the less, your decision to choose Christ has paved a way for you. You donât have to live, as Cara Whitney puts it, âWaiting for the show to dropâ. Live in the moment youâve been given. Donât spend your time ââŠletting the devil steal our joy. Waiting for something bad to happen in our livesâŠâ.
It doesnât matter if youâre Catholic or not, today I would like to give you the opportunity to denounce Satan as the ruler of your life and affirm Jesus Christ, the Father, and Spirit as your source of salvation. Say it aloud and proclaim your decision with authority.
V. Do you reject Satan?
R. I do.
V. And all his works?
R. I do.
V. And all his empty promises?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
R. I do.
V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
Bless others and be blessed.
If the Lord has touched you in some way with His message today, I ask that you pay it forward by sharing this message, so that you and He may also bless others.
#CaraWhitney â Unbridled Faith Devotions for Young Readers
#HillsongWorship â This I Believe (The Creed)
Third Day Devotions 