Fr. Mike begins his examination of the Paschal Mystery of Christ’s passion, death, and ultimate Resurrection. He emphasizes that all of Scripture points to this Paschal Mystery, and that through our faith, we can try to examine the circumstances of Jesus’ life to fully understand our own redemption. We also explore Jesus’ relationship with Israel and our own relationship with our Jewish forefathers. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 571-576.
“Why are you weeping?” the angels ask her as she leans into the tomb. Mary Magdalene is not ashamed of her emotion; she is not hesitant in her answer. She is missing her Lord. No, she does not fully grasp the great theological mysteries of the passion and the resurrection that she is about to encounter. She cannot explain that she leans in to look because everything about Jesus indicated there was something greater coming on the other side of his hideous death. All she knows is that she is there because she is looking for her Lord. And that is enough to lead her straight to the Resurrected One. Whatever has brought you to the tomb weeping, know that you are made for resurrection joy. Stay, lean in, and look for the Lord.
Before you know it, he will be there beside you in all his glory. And he will fill you with a joy that bubbles over and overflows and sends you out as an apostle of the Good News. And when you see him? Oh, when he calls your name and you recognize his voice? You will be transformed! You, friend, will become a new creation, one who has drawn near to Christ in sickness and in suffering, in sin and shame, and been made new. You will become one who now knows that the end of the story is that he defeats it all and comes back to offer us a life of hope. And then he sends us to offer that hope to a world so desperately in need of it. He is calling your name. Do you recognize his voice? Turn, friend, and in his face, be reminded of who it is he says that you are.
“For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came also through a human being. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the first fruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”1 Corinthians 15:21-26
After Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead, He continued to appear to His disciples for a period of 40 days. After this time, with His Apostles gathered around Him on the Mount of Olives, Jesus was taken up bodily into heaven, as recorded in the Gospels. To comfort them in His physical absence, He promised to send them a Consoler and Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with them and to guide them into all truth until the end of the world. The Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday, also called Ascension Thursday. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, and among the oldest and most solemn feasts on the liturgical calendar. In many dioceses the celebration of the feast is transferred to the following Sunday.
“Let us not confess to abase ourselves, but to be raised up. We, all of us, need this badly. Like little children who, whenever they fall, need to be picked up by their fathers, we need this. We too fall frequently. And the hand of our Father is ready to set us on our feet again and to make us keep walking. That sure and trustworthy hand is Confession. Confession is the sacrament that lifts us up; it does not leave us on the ground, weeping on the hard stones where we have fallen. Confession is the Sacrament of resurrection, pure mercy… God forgives everything.” Pope Francis
[Nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. —Romans 8:39
Have you ever watched a movie in which a prisoner is being tortured at increasingly horrible levels of pain until they either give up a secret or give in to death? This is what comes to mind when reading the apostle Paul’s dread-list of the worst things that could happen to God’s people. Which of these might cause them to doubt God’s love?
In this passage Paul was naming some of his own hardships and then confirming to his own soul, and to ours, “No, not persecution. No, not famine. No, not that, or that, or that.” Why? Because God’s love is unshakable, and God gives us the strength not only to face but also to conquer the enemy’s attacks. How? Through the finished work of Christ’s victorious death and resurrection.
Paul says neither the present nor the future shall threaten our confidence in God’s loving grip on us. This passage has been a stronghold for my Uncle Ivan over the past 45 years since his wife, Ruth, woke up one day and was unable to move. Her increasing paralysis changed their future dramatically, but they have trusted in God every step of the way.
Is there anything in your life that feels too overwhelming to handle? The power of the living God guarantees a strong grip on you as you face your hardship head-on. Never give up.
Lord, we are weak, but you are strong. When the troubles of life pummel us, help us to find comfort in your love that never lets go. Help us to keep looking to you. In Jesus, Amen.
How do you know someone is alive if you don’t see them? I’ve taken a clue from the sheriff detective…there is fresh evidence. For instance, you may not see a family member for a day, but you know they are alive, right? You see dirty plates right where they left them. You see your husband’s dirty socks right where he left them. I guess he figured the Molly Maid Service would come by and pick them up. You may not see the person, but you see fresh evidence that they’ve been there and that they are alive. They may have left a note for you. They may have cooked dinner for you. You know they are alive even though you may not have touched them or laid eyes on them. Likewise, we have not touched the resurrected Christ, but we know that He is alive. We see the evidence.
From the very beginning, the Chief Priests bribed Roman soldiers to lie and say that disciples stole the body of Christ. That must have been one big bribe. The Romans knew quite well what betrayal meant. It meant instant death. The Romans did not refer anyone to defense counsel. If you failed in doing your duty, you were duly executed in a very brutal way. The Roman army did not play. No bail. No defense attorney. You were executed. So, it had to be a pretty big bribe. Even back then, there was fake news. “Christ wasn’t resurrected.” “His body was stolen.” You don’t steal a body after a couple days in Palestine. Trust me on this one. Ask any police officer or nurse. Nobody steals a body after that length of time. That’s fake news. Sound familiar? As scripture says, there’s nothing new under the sun. All through the centuries, people have claimed that Christ is dead or He was just a nice guy or He was the same as Muhammad and Buddha. None of them claimed that He was God. They try to relegate religion to just old wives tales. But, as much as they tried, the Chief Priests couldn’t keep a lid on the news of Christ’s resurrection even with the use of armies and the threat of persecution. That’s because it’s true. If it wasn’t, why would they spend all the time, money, and energy to say it’s not?
Why do people complain about the Catholic Church and its teachings? It’s the message of Christ. If it’s not true, why do they bother? If it’s not true, why do they care? They can go live their lives and do other stuff. They complain, because they know it is true. Our Lord proved Himself to all those detractors. They are gone, but we are still here. We have evidence through the centuries that Christ is still alive. Look at what our Catholic Church has done. We have built universities and hospitals. These are the things we do best. What was the cause of all those centuries of good works? It was the love of Christ in us. The living love of Christ is still evident today. You know it’s true, because you are here today. You have faith in the resurrection, and you have faith in Jesus Christ. You are here to be touched by the love of God and to draw closer to Him. Is there some fear in all of us? Of course there is, just as there was for the women at the tomb. But, you overcome your fear through your faith. That’s why you are here today. By your presence, you proclaim the resurrection of Christ, and that He is not dead. He’s not a footnote in history. He wasn’t just some really nice guy. By your faithful attendance at Mass and participation in the Sacraments, you are making your profession and belief in the resurrection and that Christ lives. One day you will share His life. Most of us won’t be around for the end of the world; as far as I know.. I haven’t gotten any phone calls. On that day, we too will go to the tomb just like Mary Magdalene and the women did on Good Friday morning.
As you look through the history of the Church, God has never been unfaithful to His followers. Never…not once. In seminary I learned a lot of stuff, well they think I did, but I was supposed to learn a lot of stuff. We studied Thomas Aquinas and the five proofs of God. I will prove to you that God exists and also how faithful He is. I guarantee that if you pray for this it will happen on your way home. Guaranteed. Pray for patience. “Lord, I want to grow in patience, I want to be meek, humble, and understanding,” Pray that prayer, and I guarantee that you will find five nitwits who will irritate the living heck out of you and try your patience on the way home. Patience is an acquired virtue that you get by practice. Ask for patience, and our good Lord will say, “Great! You got it.” He will send all those nitwits to help you grow in that virtue. That’s the quickest way to prove that God exists. The quickest proof that God listens to your prayers and answers them. God is alive and active. We have 2,000 years of proof. We see His results. Do we see them as often as we’d like? No. He hides in our human nature.
We believe in the resurrection of Christ. If it wasn’t true, why have so many people for over 2,000 years kept saying it’s not true? You can see that God is alive. We do not see Him directly, but He is alive. He is working in us. He is working through you. He took the humanity that He received from the Blessed Mother to His sacred Passion and resurrection and then to Heaven. He uses His humanity to make His love present and known to the world. He does that for us. Each of us, in our own vocation, are to prove to the world that God’s love is alive. The grave could not hold Him. God promised that we will imitate His resurrection. So, for those who follow Him, the grave will not hold us. We will be like Him. We will suffer probably, in one way or another, and we will rest in our graves until the day of our own resurrection. That is not defeat…that is victory.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you help prove to the world that God’s love is alive?
Father’s Afterthoughts…
Now part of my Irish cultural heritage is the belief that leprechauns are real. I think it’s because we drank a wee bit too much ale. You never hear anyone complain about leprechauns. But, they don’t exist. If you see any, I can get you some help. I know people. You will feel much better.
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes. From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page). There is also a search box if looking for a specific topic.
Since Christ is resurrected, we can look with new eyes and a new heart at every event of our lives, even the most negative ones. Moments of darkness, of failure and even sin can be transformed and announce the beginning of a new path. When we have reached the lowest point of our misery and our weakness, the Risen Christ gives us the strength to rise again. If we entrust ourselves to him, his grace saves us! The Lord, Crucified and Risen, is the full revelation of mercy, present and working throughout history.”—Pope Francis
The tricky thing about Easter is that while our faith and often our minds tell us that now life is all alleluias and rainbows, the reality is that sometimes we’re still caught in some dark places. We might not be quite feeling the joy of resurrection. In today’s Gospel, Peter, James, John and the other disciples are going back to their fishing boats. We get the sense that they’ve given up on this life of proclaiming the Good News. They’re discouraged, they’re confused. They’ve seen the Risen Christ in the upper room but then he vanished again. It turns out the fishing isn’t all that great either. But they listened to the stranger on the beach telling them to try the other side of the boat. And Peter remembered the very beginning of his time with Jesus, when the novice told the experienced fisherman how to catch fish. He recognized the voice, the call, the inspiration. And, once again, his life was about to change. Pope Francis reminds us that at the heart of it all—our joys, our sorrows, our trials, our challenges, our heartaches—God’s presence is as simple and profound as a fire, a simple meal, a new way of seeing reality. The death and resurrection of Jesus reminds us that God knows it’s never easy. The Risen Christ bore the wounds of the cross as a sign of that. Remember that he’s with us every step of the way, loving us, nudging us forward, showing us a new way to see.
