Daily Meditation for May 5, 2025

The beloved pastor where I was working died very suddenly of a heart attack. As I knelt praying before the official wake, a freckled face fourth grader squeezed into the pew beside me, and in a not-so-quiet whisper he began pelting me with questions: “Where was Father Vaugh right now? What was he doing? Was he okay? Was he happy or sad?” There are so many things we don’t know about death and the life that we do believe comes hereafter! The same with the death of Jesus. We don’t know and we struggle to believe. But I had a third grade theologian who settled it for me. After Easter vacation, in religion class, I asked what was the meaning of Easter. She raised her hand and piped up in a clear voice “It means that Jesus really, really died, but he didn’t stay dead.”

By Judy Kramer, OSB