(Audio recorded live, 5 April 2026)

Readings:

Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Ps. 118; Col. 3:1-4; Jn. 20:1-9

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Truly, He is Risen! Alleluia! During this most solemn Easter Mass, we celebrate the earth-shattering event of the Resurrection of our Blessed Lord. Matthew pulls no punches when he describes what it was like when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrived at the tomb. He says there was a great earthquake and an angel descended from heaven, rolled back the stone, and told them the good news that Jesus had been raised.

St. Peter’s speech in Acts of the Apostles testifies to the Resurrection of Jesus, saying, “Jesus commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.” Jesus is the just judge of the living and the dead, and He draws all people to Himself. The Resurrection is the pivotal moment in Salvation History when the Lord fulfills all righteousness.

I would like to share with you part of an ancient homily by an unknown author. This has to do with Jesus’ time in the tomb—the three days between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. He says there is a great silence while the King is asleep in the earth. “The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began.” As he descends into hell, he says to Adam,

“I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for you descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person we cannot be separated.”

I would like to suggest that these words also apply to all of us, poor banished children of Eve. While Eve was the mother of all the living, we nevertheless inherited death through our first parents. But, Christ, taking upon himself the flesh of Adam, our own flesh, He offers it to the Father in expiation for our sins and the sins of the whole world, thus opening for us all the gates of heaven and eternal life. Talk about earth-shattering!

How do we get this life in us? We ought to consider that while the body is physical, the soul is spiritual. Just as we all had a physical birth, we also must have a spiritual birth; just as we must grow to physical maturity, we also must grow to spiritual maturity; just as a body needs food, we also must receive spiritual nourishment. Each of these physical needs—birth, maturity, and nourishment—have spiritual counterparts in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. Baptism is the gateway to the sacraments and the Church. It opens us to life of grace and the spiritual life in Christ. Confirmation seals us for the life of faith, infusing us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. And Holy Communion nourishes us with the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, who gave his life for the life of the world. This is all earth-shattering Good News!

Perhaps there are some among us who have not completed their sacraments of initiation. I invite you, as Jesus did to St. Peter, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch” (Lk. 5:4). At that time, Peter had just met Jesus and was far from being one of His disciples, but he nevertheless carries out the Lord’s command and pulls in a catch so big they needed more boats to bring all the fish in. When Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk. 5:8b). In a way, Peter is saying, I am not worthy of so great a calling. But, Jesus does not allow him to bow out of the mission he will soon give him. Jesus says, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Lk. 5:10b). And so, I say the same to anyone who is standing at a crossroad. When I was a child, I grew up on Morse Avenue, but to get to there, you had to take Cross Street. I never quite made the connection until recently. The Lord has a plan for my life. It has always been there. For a time I ignored it. Before becoming a priest, I was at a crossroad. Do I serve God, or do I serve myself? I choose God. May we all choose God!

Some of us may be grappling with Church teaching. I can assure you that for every sacrifice we make to lead holier lives, there is an even greater grace waiting for us. The Resurrection could not have happened if Jesus did not first sacrifice Himself for us. I am sure we have heard it said that the Church is about conformity. Well, this is true. As followers of Jesus, we seek to conform our lives after the pattern of Christ. A pattern rooted in love, prayer, chastity, justice, and yes, sacrifice. Now, each of us is at a different stage in our journey, and that’s okay. Rome was not built in a day, neither should we expect to levitate like a mystic after one Rosary. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemies when it comes to the spiritual life. We have all heard people say, “I’m spiritual, not religious.” What does that mean? A monkey swinging from limb to limb could be seen as a spiritual being. We might say that monkey is having a great time, really living it up. But, that monkey does not have a rational soul. We do. And so, we are chosen by God to be part of an assembly of people, who gather together to offer certain prayers and gestures, rituals that draw us closer to the One who calls us. Religion, therefore, informs us of what the spiritual life really is, namely, sacrifice for God, thanksgiving to God. Remember what St. Peter says to Jesus: “‘We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘[E]veryone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life’” (Mt. 19:27,29). The monkey swinging from trees or eternal life? I choose Christ. May we all choose Christ!

And now, we return to the earth-shattering scene of the empty tomb and the two Marys. What will they do? The tomb is empty. Is it game over? But, the earthquake and the angels appearing with a message for the disciples puts them instantly on mission. The angel commands them to go tell the disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.” And they ran to tell the disciples the good news. Matthew tells us they were fearful but overjoyed. Fearful because they did not yet understand what this meant, but overjoyed that the Lord had been raised. And as they were on the way, they themselves encounter the risen Jesus. Is this not the pattern of our own spiritual lives? Do not think that Christ no longer appears to His disciples. This happens every day, at every Mass as we gather around the altar to offer ourselves to the Father through Christ, our High Priest. And the Father, who is pleased with this, takes our sacrifice and gives us His Son. It does not get more earth-shattering than that. May the communion we share today, bring us all closer to Christ who is Risen! Alleluia! Truly, He is Risen! Alleluia!