Easter Hope

Dear Brophy Community,

Spring break has begun and campus is quiet, but Holy Week is not over. We are still in the midst of the Triduum, still walking with Christ through these sacred days.

Yesterday, at our Holy Thursday prayer service, two of our freshmen courageously spoke to the entire student body about their Lenten commitment to be more mindful of their disordered attachments and to hold themselves accountable to that commitment. We also witnessed the washing of feet for the 23 members of our community preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation, each one having his feet washed by the student or teacher he had chosen to be his sponsor. I was moved by the vulnerability of all of these students and by the way they bore witness to the graces of Lent: a call to humility, to honest conversion, and to love one another through acts of service.

Earlier today, on Good Friday, a group of our students and faculty participated in a Living Stations of the Cross. As we walked down Central Avenue and stopped fourteen times for each of the moments leading to Christ’s crucifixion, we placed before God the many forms of suffering present in our world and in our own community, and were reminded that the Cross is not a distant story. In Iran and the many places torn by war, in communities burdened by poverty and instability, and in the lives of migrants and refugees seeking safety and dignity, suffering remains painfully present.

There is something important about choosing not to remain still in the face of this reality. There is value in planting our feet somewhere, in praying not only with our hearts but with our presence. In doing so, we resist indifference, draw nearer to suffering, and allow it to move us toward solidarity.

Still, we know that Good Friday is not the end of our story. We walk the way of the Cross as people who believe in the Resurrection, trusting that love is stronger than death and that even in the face of suffering, hope endures.

May these holy days deepen our faith, widen our hearts, and help us live more fully in the hope of Easter.

Wishing you and your families a blessed Easter,