2nd Week of Easter 2023 - Monday - Born again for Easter Boldness

 In Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dante the pilgrim travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.  The pilgrim makes his journey through hell and witnesses the eternal punishments of the unrepentant sinners. Ascending the mountain of purgatory, Dante witnesses the ordeals of those requiring purification and purgation prior to entry into heaven. And then making his way into the realm of the blessed, he witnesses the sweet rewards of the saints. 

Near the beginning of the journey, after passing through the gates of hell, the first place to which Dante comes is a place called Acheron, which is a sort of ante-chamber before entering Hell proper.  Acheron isn’t filled with the murderers and adulterers and betrayers in hell’s lower regions; rather, Acheron is filled with those who were apathetic to the spiritual life, the lukewarm—those who failed to make any real life choice to pursue what is good and holy. 

Scripture itself condemns the lukewarm. In Revelation, God himself says “because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Dante puts the lukewarm in this ante-chamber of hell as a way of saying, these souls are so lukewarm that neither heaven nor hell wants them. And so Dante depicts these souls as just sort of tumbling through the after-life like tumbleweeds, forever deprived of the sight of God, forever homeless. 

This was Dante’s subtle way of inspiring his readers to make the choice for God, to choose to pursue the goal of their creation. We are created to pursue God, to make the choice for God, so that we can reach the destination for which we were made: eternal happiness in the presence of God.

We didn’t have a choice to be born. But we have a choice to be “born again” in the words of the Lord in the Gospel today. We must choose the new life, the new man, the new way of living, rather than just being blown about like tumbleweeds. 

So many of our modern Catholics have fallen into a sad indifference towards the Gospel, and are blown about like tumbleweed by the currents of culture.  When we are more committed to video games and sports games and tv shows than to matters of faith or political activism, there is a problem.

Hence, the Church’s call in modern times for all committed Catholics to seek to be emboldened in faith and to engage in a new evangelization, to rouse the spiritually apathetic to a renewed commitment to the Gospel.

In the first reading, too, Peter and John and the disciples are filled with holy boldness for spreading the Gospel. Easter is about claiming that holy boldness that God desires for us—being transformed from coldness or indifference to boldness for the Gospel. The disciples were filled with the transforming power of the Resurrection to become fearless preachers, willing to undergo persecution, even death, for the person and message of Jesus.  

Through the celebration of these Easter mysteries may we be roused out of any spiritual apathy or lukewarmness that has anesthetized our hearts, that we may engage more fully in the work of the Gospel for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. 

For our parish, that we may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ.

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.