In today’s First Reading from the Book of Acts, St. Peter courageously preaches the Gospel to the same Jewish leaders and residents of Jerusalem—the very same group of people who had conspired to condemn Jesus to death by crucifixion. Peter doesn’t sugar-coat his message; bluntly he says, “You have put to death, the author of life.”
But he doesn’t dwell on this fact for long, he moves on from their sin and weakness and ignorance to the more important truth. He tells them that God has brought forth something inestimably good from Christ’s suffering and death. God has turned the death of the Messiah into the definitive victory over death, evil, and suffering. “God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses” Peter says. “We are witnesses”. Certainly he was thinking about those times, as we heard in today’s Gospel, where the disciples witness the Risen Christ, appearing to them, eating with them, letting them see and touch his wounds, proving the he was not a ghost or illusion.
Christ has risen, and this changes everything. It is a new beginning for the human race. Whether you were one of the people who were calling for his crucifixion, or like Peter, you denied him. A new beginning has come.
And the same goes for us: if there were times in our life when we disregarded certain commandments or in our weakness found them too difficult to follow, if there were times when we didn’t stand up for the faith as we should have, if there were times, perhaps, when we struggled with atheism, or perhaps we committed a really shameful sin, like abortion or helping someone procure an abortion, Easter is a new beginning. The Resurrection means a new beginning in which we can truly leave behind the chains of sin and selfishness in all their forms. The Resurrection puts all good things within reach: wisdom, patience, joy, fortitude, self-control—in short, it makes holiness and lasting happiness possible for each of us.
That is what Peter is telling the crowds, and that is what the Church is telling us: let Easter be a new beginning, do not despair, hope in Christ, leave everything aside to follow him, and he will work wonders in your life.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, tells a story about his visit to a prison to celebrate Mass for the prisoners there. While he was being escorted by the prison warden into the room where they were going to gather for the celebration of Mass, the Archbishop thanked the warden for allowing him the opportunity.
And the warden said, “No, Archbishop, thank you. We are glad when chaplains come. The most dangerous man in the prison is a desperate man.” And that word ‘desperate’ was carefully chosen. The word desperate comes from the Latin – de, spes –without hope.
“The most dangerous person in jail is a desperate man—a man without hope—that man will do anything. But if a prisoner has hope, and it might just be a natural hope to get out, or to have certain privileges restored, or it might be a noble hope, to discover his inner dignity—to discover the image of God deep down and to make his peace with the Lord. Once a prisoner has hope, that prisoner comes alive, that prisoner can be reformed, that prisoner becomes a blessing to our community. We can do a lot of things in jail, but we cannot give hope. It is good that you men of faith come, because our men need hope.”
It is our Easter Task to proclaim that no matter your past, no matter your sins, there is hope! The task isn’t just for prison chaplains, it’s the task of every Christian!
How can we better embody the hope that comes from the Resurrection of Christ? I’d like to focus on three points.
First, as St Peter stressed in the First Reading, we must "repent, and be converted."
If we are constantly fighting with our siblings, or engaging in physical relations outside of marriage, or if we are a constant source of negativity, gossip, sarcasm, or resentment. We have some repenting to do, some conversion is needed, to open ourselves to be people of mercy.
A nightly examination of conscience before bed can help us identify attitudes, habits, and behaviors that need to be converted. Repentance is where transformation begins. Failing to repent is like trying to inflate a tire with a hole in it, or putting water in a broken cup.
So, if there are any serious sins that we have not repented of, we need to bring them to the sacrament of confession. For only those who have encountered mercy can be instruments of mercy.
Secondly, as today’s Psalm reminds us, we must turn to God in prayer: "Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one; the LORD will hear me when I call upon him." Daily "calling upon the Lord" is not just for Lent. Lent was to help us put into practice disciplines we should practice all year round.
Developing a deep prayer life means learning to spend quality time with the Lord in silence, encountering him in the daily reading of scripture, the writings of the saints.
This week, Pope Francis issued a wonderful new apostolic exhortation called: “Gaudete et Exsultate: “Rejoice and Be Glad: On the Call to Holiness in the Contemporary World.” Our own Bishop, Bishop Perez has recommended that we all read and reflect upon this new exhortation.
In addition to the second lesson, the need to pray, the Holy Father says, “we shouldn’t “think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer... We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by labouring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain”
So the third Lesson, is to strive to witness in our day to day activities by practicing Gospel values always. And that becomes all the more possible when we’ve rightly repented of sins, and encountered the Risen Lord in prayer, in word and sacrament.
Repent, pray, bring Christ into your day-to-day activities. By this may we continue to open ourselves, this easter season, to the transforming hope that comes from the Resurrection, that we may be transformed into instruments of hope for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
It seems strange that during this joyous easter season, we have these readings from the book of Acts about how the Church was being persecuted. Last week, we heard of how the apostles were thrown into jail for their Christian faith. Yesterday, the reading recounted the death of the first martyr, the deacon Stephen. Today’s reading picks up right where yesterday’s left off. With the death of Stephen a severe persecution broke out in Jerusalem, and Christians were scattered to the country side.
