Celebrating that Christ is Risen

I don't usually write two entries in one day.  I just have a quick idea for another entry and I'll count this as tomorrow's.  At mass today, Father Sam Lupico commented on how today is the last Sunday that we celebrate the Easter season--in other words the last Sunday that we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead and being with his disciples until the Ascension.  He commented on how the celebration of Jesus's rising seems to come and go on Easter Sunday itself.  He contrasted this with his experience in at least one Greek Orthodox church in which they were still greeting each other with "Jesus is risen" even this week.  I thought about this observation and my blog.  I spent a lot of time preparing for Easter and then have left it behind.  Part of the reason is the simple fact that I have needed to return to some other things that didn't occur as I spent a lot of time working on the blog each day of the Lenten season.  But, I have felt compelled to get back to it.  I miss the focus on my spirituality.  I don't know if other's share this issue--that so much effort is spent preparing for Easter that once it is here it is hard to keep up the celebration.  But Father Sam made the point that the joy of the Resurrection should continue.  So, I will probably write shorter entries, but my goal will be to get back to more entries.  More entries that force me to bring my spiritual health back into focus as much as my physical health all year long.  

Completion

So, one of the three C's I wrote about the other day was completion.  I talked about the importance of completing things in the bigger life setting.  What I didn't really write much about was what this means in the context of a morning run for Back on My Feet.

I commented last week about "much celebration" as the runs are complete on any given day.  What does this mean?  Well, first, it means that unless a person is really pressed for time, everyone stays until the last person gets back from the run.  Of course, usually it is last group of people rather than last person as we are supposed to run in groups on the early morning streets of Baltimore.

For those who finish early, what are they supposed to do when others finish?  We clap as we see people coming in.  If you are in a further back group, you have more people clapping for you.  And when a person (of group of runners) comes in there are high fives all around.

This celebration of completion makes it clear how important, how special, how wonderful, how significant it is to bring something to a conclusion.

After everyone has been congratulated, we then all stretch as a group and hugs are shared as we part.  This provides a wonderful sense of togetherness (i.e. camaraderie) along with the sense of completion.

Should we do this with all things in life?  Probably not.  Some contexts are not meant for high fives and hugs.  However, we should remember that even for things that are just expectations (of parenting, of home ownership, of being an adult, of school, of our jobs, etc.) finishing is still important.  I'm going to try to make sure that I find ways to acknowledge and celebrate finishing for me, my kids, my wife, and my students to help bring everyone to the next level of being able to get things done and improve our own and everyone's well-being.