Happy Easter

I went to Easter Vigil on Saturday. I've been to Easter Vigil services as long as I can remember. It's a beautiful service, probably the best mass Catholicism has to offer.

The best part about Easter Vigil is if the church has an RCIA program, because the new Catholics are welcomed into the church on Easter Vigil. And it's beautiful to watch someone welcomed into the church as an adult. Sure, it's cute watching babies baptized, and even the kiddies going through communion and confirmation, but it's a different story for adults. It's a long and difficult process.

And watching them being baptized and confirmed, it's wonderful. It's such a pleasant reminder that God's always calling, if we're willing to listen. He's out there for us, calling us too. And sometimes, it's good to be reminded of that.

I had to round today, and I didn't get a chance to go to church. It's the first time I've missed Easter day services since... well... ever. I've never missed an Easter service before. I can even remember going as a kid, even when my mom was working. She made us go even though she couldn't.

I like going to Easter service. I'd much rather be at church than at the hospital, but my mom reminded me of what my old pastor told us once. It's not okay to skip out on patients to go to church, even if it is Easter. It's not okay to leave that kind of obligation behind, because that was the work God called us to do. The gift of healing, it's a special calling, and Jesus himself didn't stop for the sabbath or because he had to go to temple.

My job is to heal, and I wanted that job because it's what I thought God wanted me to do. And so I take that job with some gravity, and even though I'm kind of sad that for the first time in my life I missed Easter, I don't feel bad about it. Because I was Easter for my patients. I'd like to think that I don't need a dispensation for that.