Search
From the Pastor's Desk: Easter Sunday-April 4, 2021
-
“Then the other disciple also went in….and he saw and believed.”
On the first day of the week, the third day of His Passion, Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
Today is His day! Many great historical figures have led exemplary lives, taught wise doctrines, and even died for the truth. But only one has risen again.
Among the vast array of humanity's greatest heroes, only about Jesus Christ can we say: "He rose again on the third day, in fulfillment of the scriptures." This is the fullness of Easter Sunday - the irreversible victory of the Resurrection. The tomb is empty. The stone is overturned. The shadow of the cross is dispelled by the bright morning light of a new creation. Christ's apparent failure has blossomed into victory, just like the seed that disappears under the ground only to rise up again in fresh, new growth.
Picture taken inside of “the empty tomb” of Jesus
when I celebrated Mass with my brother,
Fr. Remek, and a group of pilgrims in Jerusalem.
Only the reality of the Resurrection can explain the reality of the history of the Church: a few weak, non-influential, and uneducated fishermen from Galilee, frightened out of their wits when Jesus was arrested and executed, suddenly become world travelers, phenomenally successful preachers, and valiant martyrs. And the Church they spread continues to spread after they died, holding fast to the exact same doctrine they preached, century after century, in nation after nation.
That is the basic pattern of Christian life, for the Church, for Christian communities, for individuals: apparent failures blossoming into victories; Good Fridays turning into Easter Sundays.
As we follow Christ, He leads us up to the hill of Calvary, where we die to ourselves in the painful surrender to God's Will - our own Good Fridays. But that death, in fact, gives God's grace room to work in our lives so that we sprout new shoots of wisdom, virtue, and happiness - our own Easter Sundays.
So, let's not just enjoy Easter, let it change our lives. After all, Christ's Resurrection is not just a nice idea; it is the power of eternal life at work in us. Almost every one of us made an effort to live Lent in a special way. Why not do something special in the Easter season? We are given six weeks of Lent of Prayer, Penance and Charity. But we are given eight weeks of the joyous season of Easter! Perhaps as we open our hearts we can do something “beautiful for God.”
I would like to extend words of sincere welcome to our brothers and sisters who, through the process of RCIA and RCIC, entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. I pray that your faith will grow ever stronger in the Easter Mystery, so together with all the faithful proclaim the truth that “He is Risen” by the way you will live your lives.
On behalf of Fr. Xaviour, Deacon Steve, The Missionary Sisters of the Holy Family, and the entire parish staff, to all our parishioners, friends and guests who pray with us this Easter Sunday, I would like to take the opportunity to wish all of you a blessed and holy Easter! May the gift of Easter renew your faith in the Risen Lord. May the grace of Resurrected Jesus fill your hearts with His peace on “this (very special) day the Lord has made,” the day when we “rejoice and be glad!”
A Blessed Easter, everyone!!!
With prayers,
Fr. Andy
