Holy Week 2021 - Holy Saturday Morning Prayer - Death and Victory

 As soon as Jesus expired, “the veil of the Temple was torn in two…the earth quaked, the rocks were rent. And the graves were opened: and many bodies…arose,” so that those who were present were seized with a great fear and said: “Indeed this was the Son of God”. Jesus willed to die in complete disgrace, accepting to the very end the mocking challenges of the soldiers, “If you are Christ, save yourself”. But scarcely had He drawn his last breath, when His divinity revealed itself in such a powerful manner that it impressed even those who, up to that moment, had been jeering at Him. Christ’s death began to show itself for what it really was, that is, not a defeat, but a victory: the greatest victory that the world would ever witness, the victory over sin, the victory over death, which was the consequence of sin, the victory which restored to man the life of grace.

Today the Church observes a day of silence, for though his victory was revealed in many signs—the earthquake, the rending of the temple veil—the sacred Body of Jesus, after so many tortures and sufferings, was laid in a silent tomb. 

Together with Our Lady, who received the lacerated Body of her divine Son into her arms, let us draw near today to gaze upon the wounds, the bruises on his body, and his blood, all of which speak so eloquently of Jesus’ love for us. It is true that these wounds are no longer painful, but glorious; and tomorrow, at Easter dawn, we shall celebrate the great victory which they have won. 

Today, we recall, too, that tomb is also meant for us. We too must die with him, if we are to live with him, we too must be buried with him, if we are to rise with him. We, like the catechumens who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil, who will go down into the waters as Christ went down into the tomb, must bury the old sinful way of doing things and treating people, the earthly way, the way devoid of love of God and neighbor. 

May this Holy Saturday, a day of recollection on the sacred wounds of Christ and the Sacred Burial of Christ, prepare us for the glory of Easter Sunday, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Collect: All-powerful and ever-living God, your only Son went down among the dead and rose again in glory. In your goodness raise up your faithful people, buried with him in baptism, to be one with him in the everlasting life of heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Easter Sunday 2017 - Transforming the Tomb

Yesterday morning, I spent some time watching April, the most famous giraffe in the world, give birth to her new calf. For weeks, millions have watched tuned in to gaze into this little zoo enclosure to see one of God’s spectacular creatures bring new life into the world. Million watched and waited on April’s womb. And now her womb is empty because it has brought forth new life: a healthy little baby giraffe, who’s already walking around and smiling with that goofy giraffe grin.

Today, on this Easter Sunday we celebrate not an empty womb, but an empty tomb, the first empty tomb since the fall of Adam and Eve. For remember, from the time of the sin of Adam and Eve, the tomb had claimed every human soul. The tomb was the place of captivity and darkness. The tomb was the place where death reigned supreme. It was the place of stench, decay, and utter sadness.

But on Easter Sunday morning, a little less than 2000 years ago, God did something completely new in the history of the world. He defeated the tomb; the powers of death, which dragged every human soul since Adam into hell, were defeated. Through Christ’s resurrection, death lost its grip over human souls.

Utter defeat has been transformed into irreversible victory. As C.S. Lewis said, “The door which had always been locked had for the very first time been forced open.” Evil had its way with God's anointed. Death had sway over mankind.  But now, no more. Christ is risen, he is truly risen!
The tomb, in a sense, is transformed into a womb. The place of death is transformed into a place of life. From this lifeless tomb burst forth new life. As St. Paul says, Jesus Christ is “the first-born of the dead.”

Jesus Christ’s resurrection, his bursting forth from the tomb, is the stamp of guarantee on all of his teachings and promises. He rose, just as he said he would. Resurrexit sicut dixit. And so all of his promises can be trusted, we can put our faith in Him. We can believe that those follow him as he taught us, those who have been reborn in baptism as he taught us, those who eat his flesh and drink his blood as he taught us, those who carry their crosses faithfully to the end as he taught us, will be raised with him as he taught us. No believer, no one who believes in Christ and follows him, will be subject to the tomb. No tomb shall ever hold Christ’s faithful ones again.

Yes, we may still face physical death. But physical death, we Christians know is not the end of the story anymore. The tomb through Christ is transformed into a womb, whose darkness and constriction are now simply a place of preparation for new and eternal life. Those who buried simply rest and wait to be raised.

In the Creed, every Sunday, we profess this belief in the resurrection of our bodies. Just as Christ is risen and lives forever, so all of his faithful ones us will be raised on the last day and live forever.
Jesus himself teaches this John’s Gospel; he says, “The hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.”
This truly is Good News, the best of news.

Chesterton writes: “‘God raised Jesus from the dead!’  This was the fundamental and unalterable testimony of those who had physically seen Jesus dead and then alive again.  The historical fact of Jesus resurrection is the ground and basis of all true love, hope, and joy; for if Jesus is still in the grave then all of humanity will remain in the grave too.  But he is not in the grave, and this makes all the difference.  Now those who put their hope in Jesus may find their way into a fullness of joy: partially in this world; fully in the next.”

A baby in his mother’s womb cannot comprehend the beauty and splendor of life outside the womb; he’s not even begun to experience the joy God has in store for him. Similarly, the life of the Christian faith opens us to great vistas of truth and beauty and goodness and joy that can be found no where else.

Is your life full of Christian joy? Are you surprised by the unexpected joy of encountering God in your prayer life, through acts of Christian service? Are you surprised by the joy of studying the faith and reading and studying the Scriptures? Are you surprised by the joy of experiencing the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifesting in your life and in your family? If not, let this Easter be an invitation to enter more deeply into life.

Lack of Christian joy is often a sign of infantile faith. Lack of joy is often a sign that we are still allowing the powers of death and sin to reign in us, that we are not allowing faith in the Risen Christ to flourish in us. If you aren’t experiencing true Christian joy, if you haven’t been living your faith as you should, if you haven’t been praying and studying and serving and coming to mass and going to confession as should, let today be a new beginning. Let it be a new beginning of living the faith, encountering Christ, spreading his Gospel. For true Joy and new life can only be discovered through Jesus Christ.

In just a moment, we will renew the promises of our Baptism. Many of us, baptized as infants, did not get the opportunity to make our own baptismal profession. It was made for us by our parents and godparents. But every Easter, Mother Church gives us the opportunity to renew our baptismal promises. We will promise once again to put behind us the old life of sin, to walk with Christ in newness of life, to make our souls places where the risen Christ may dwell and bear fruit and draw sinners to himself through us.

Listen to this beautiful invitation expressed by Pope Francis at Easter a few years ago, Pope Francis; he said: “Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms. If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won’t be disappointed. If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do.”
Jesus is Risen, indeed he is Risen, let us rejoice and be glad.  Alleluia, Alleluia.