The
gift of Christ (His Resurrection) is greater than the
sin of Adam." St. Thomas Aquinas
As we celebrate this
Easter, in order to penetrate and appreciate the Mystery
more, let us ask: What does the Resurrection of Jesus
Christ teach us? The Catechism of the Catholic Church
(paragraphs # 640 ff) clues us in (below in italics)…Did
you know, or ever think about…
EMPTINESS and
FULLNESS--"The first element we encounter in the
framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb."
Upon seeing the
"emptiness" would you have despaired, believed
or doubted? "Why do you seek the living among the
dead-He is not here but risen." (+Lk 24:5-6)…Let's
thank the disciples for believing, trusting and passing
on the Faith and testimony to us! Remember: amidst any
of today's seeming empty tombs" (Church scandals,
personal difficulties, family troubles) recall that
Jesus is Risen and, even though perhaps not physically
present, He is, hopefully, living and reigning in our
hearts!
WOMEN and
MEN--"Thus the women were the first messengers of
Christ's Resurrection for the apostles themselves.
Everything that happened during those Paschal days
involves each of the apostles-and Peter in
particular."
Notice-surprisingly?-that
it was women who saw the Risen Jesus first and spread
the Radiant News about Him. Also, St. Peter is the first
Apostle to see Him: this is no mistake-his name is
mentioned in the Bible more than double all the other
Apostles' names combined. Why?-because Christ chose (and
planned) Him as His leader and
"representation" on earth-and the early
Christian Church recognized him as such…Be grateful
for how God has given you Faith through your mother,
other women-and all the women who are so valiantly
dedicated to the Church and Christ-often without
recognition…Think of how Jesus planned to set up His
Church, amidst the Resurrection itself, with human
structures to carry on His Mission after He left the
world. These human leaders-priests and bishops--are
fallible and sinful, as we can see in St. Peter and
today's Church leaders: however, like St. Peter's denial
of Jesus to his conversion and martyrdom, this should
not make us change Jesus' plans, but impel us to strive
for greater holiness and faithfulness!
CRUCIFIED and
GLORIFIEED--"…the risen body in which He appears
to them is the same body that had been tortured and
crucified, for it still bears the traces of His passion…Yet
at the same time this authentic, real body possess the
new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space
and time…for Christ's humanity can no longer be
confined to earth and belongs henceforth only to the
Father's divine realm."
Christ wants us still
to contemplate His suffering and death even amidst the
Easter joy. Perhaps we can sometimes be overly
optimistic and forgetful of what--and how much--He
really did for all of us. And yet His Body is
Glorious-luminous and alluring, symbolizing what we,
hopefully, will be like in our own resurrection.
Christ's resurrected and "heavenly journey"
points the way to our final home-"the Father's
realm."
+MYSTERY--The Father's
power raised up Christ His Son and by doing so perfectly
introduced His Son's humanity, including His body, into
the Trinity." …Even though God is pure spirit,
now, with the Resurrection and Ascension of the Son,
bodily life is "introduced" into the Holy
Trinity: this implies that the realm of Heaven and bliss
are not only, or reducible to, a mental and
"spiritualized" life without traces of our
human "roots". No: it is not only when our
souls "reach God and Heaven" that our
supernatural life is complete, but it is when our bodies
and souls are reunited-at the Second Coming of Jesus-in
the Most holy Trinity when we totally arrive at the
fullness of eternal life--see below…
" 'By the unity of
the divine nature, which remains present in each of the
two components of man, these are reunited. For as death
is produced by the separation of the human components,
so resurrection is achieved by union of the two."
+St. Gregory of Nyssa.
Until the Resurrection,
and Heaven and the Last Judgment, we humans are in
constant flux, tension and instability-our bodies and
souls, riveted by sin are in dis-union.
Harmony-spiritually, physically-is only complete in
Christ Jesus, when He totally and irrevocably
"repairs' and restores" us to true life.
As we can see through
the Catechism, the Resurrection teaches us many great
lessons-they are all important…The Church gives us
FIFTY DAYS-until Pentecost-to ponder and enjoy the
triumph of God over sin and death. Do not be like the
world and forget or water down the holiest of
mysteries-the Resurrection of Jesus Christ-but through
ongoing conversion, frequent Holy Communion,
Reconciliation (see below re. Divine Mercy), and
rejoicing in His Spring, let us be grateful for all
God's graces.
As we gratefully ponder
and enjoy the fruits of the Lord's Resurrection let us
always remember to receive Him-Crucified and Risen-where
it counts most--"Out of the tomb and into my
heart."
Read
other Sermons by Father John J. Lombardi