G.K. Chesterton once said that his umbrella helped reveal to him why he knew the Catholic Church was for him. He said that whenever he went to non-Catholic churches, he would customarily leave his umbrella by the back door during the worship service. In these churches, his umbrella would always be there waiting for him when he went back out. But the first time he went into a Catholic church to hear Mass, his umbrella disappeared from the back of the church. Someone had stolen it.
What kind of leaven will we be – a good leaven rising up fruit to the praise of God, or a corrupt leaven causing the downfall of our neighbor? Easter, when we celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord, is a good time of year to take stock – to cast out the old leaven of corruption, and instead, to leaven the world with loving intimations of God’s kingdom.