Easter Sunday: The Risen Jesus is Our Hope
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Because Jesus is physically alive, his Church is visible. Because Jesus is corporeal, the sacraments are visible aqueducts of his divine life. Because Jesus physically transcends time and space, he remains with us in the Eucharist as the "medicine of immortality" (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1405). The empty tomb and the neatly folded burial cloths illustrate that redemption is not only for the soul, but for the body as well.
He is truly risen! The empty tomb and the neatly folded burial cloths illustrate that redemption is not only for the soul, but for the body as well.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (CATHOLIC ONLINE) - The resurrection of Jesus is a reality beyond doubt. The liturgical season of Easter fills us with immense joy and profound hope. However, each time we contemplate the gospel passages detailing the resurrection of Jesus we are faced with a sense of strangeness. The barriers of time and space no longer apply to him. The Lord appears and disappears with shocking suddenness. He continually demonstrates his physical reality. The Apostles and the disciples see him, hear him, and eat with him. Thomas is told to touch his wounds. The stone rolled away from the entrance, and the carefully folded burial cloths direct our gaze to the physical. He has truly risen.
The disbelief and uncertainty evidenced by those who saw him testify to an apparent strangeness in the appearance of the newly risen Christ. Slowly they came to recognize him, but they still struggled with doubt. Their response shows us that although the risen Jesus is the same Jesus that died on Calvary; his physical reality is now different than before. The body of the risen Lord is indeed his physical body, but he now moves about with a glorified body.
Repeatedly the gospels stress that something extraordinary has occurred. The Lord is tangible, but he has been transformed. His life is different from what it once was. His glorified body transcends the limitations of time and space. For this reason, he can pass through the closed door of the Upper Room, and appear and disappear as he desires. At times his disciples cannot recognize him precisely because their physical reality moves within time and space, and the Lord's physical reality is no longer subject to time and space, although he exists within time and space.
The clarity of the physical reality of the risen Jesus provides us with the certainty of the existence of the Lord and the veracity of everything that he has taught us. The empty tomb and the neatly folded burial cloths illustrate that redemption is not only for the soul, but for the body as well.
Applied to our practical daily living, the reality of the Risen Jesus fills us with profound peace. There is no need to worry or to fear. He is truly with us. With Jesus, we know that we are journeying, not to the sunset, but to the sunrise. We enter into a new relationship with God when we really believe that God is as Jesus told us that he is. We become absolutely sure of his love. We become absolutely convinced that he is above all else a redeeming God. The fear of suffering and death vanishes, for suffering and death means going to the one God who is the awesome God of love. In reality, our life long journey is a journey to the eternal Easter in Heaven.
When we truly believe, we enter into a new relationship with life itself. When we make Jesus our way of life, life becomes new. Life is clad with a new loveliness, a new light and a new strength. When we embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior, when we develop a personal relationship with him, we realize that life does not end, it changes and it goes from incompletion to completion, from imperfection to perfection, from time to eternity.
When we truly believe in Jesus, we are resurrected in this life because we are freed from the fear and worry that are characteristic of a godless life; we are freed from the unhappiness of a life filled with sin; we are freed from the loneliness of a life without meaning. When we walk with Jesus and follow his way, life becomes so powerful that it cannot die but must find in death the transition to a higher life.
The bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead makes our entire journey to eternal life tangible, real, certain, and credible. Because Jesus is physically alive, his Church is visible. Because Jesus is corporeal, the sacraments are visible aqueducts of his divine life. Because Jesus physically transcends time and space, he remains with us in the Eucharist as the "medicine of immortality" (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1405). Because Jesus has truly risen from the dead and ascended to the Father, we await with joyful hope his return in glory.
Nevertheless, despite the victory of Jesus over death, the attack of evil continues.
The sacrifice of Christ on the cross is unique. His death on Calvary completes and surpasses all the other sacrifices of the Old Testament. Nevertheless, Christ´s reign is to be fulfilled with his Second Coming in glory. Until that day occurs, Satan continues his attack even though he has been already conquered definitively by Christ´s ...
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Let us praise Lord for the hard work He has done by being naile on the cross for our sins. I am glad that the Lord is now alive and has shown that truly He is the son of GOD.
being a convert i am verey happy of this article it is very useful to me as a mum to three kidz i had no time to sit and read a book but this website had taught me alot thnks to you. with lord blessing i hope all my financially crisis will be over and hope you all will pray for me.
It is quite interesting to read and be associated with Catholic.org. i feel renewed at heart and a lot of knowledge from the article. Faith and salvation is a journey and such articles renews the energy to make further steps ahead. May the almighty God bless the work of his servants' hands.
Father Farfaglia has a way of speaking profound things in a way so a common man can understand. I like this web site very much. It was a great help in making this Lent meaningful and I believe transforming. I greatly look forwards to a time when I can contribute financially to your ministry and in other ways to the kingdom of God. When I read the class and wisdom of your writers I'm confirmed in my mind that converting to Catholic is the best thing Ive ever done!!! Thanks!
Thank you, Father Farfaglia, for this beautiful Easter message. Truly, it is time for us all to "dive deep" into the Ocean of bliss that is the eternal God.
as am hoping in him for me to be saved, let him give the heart to endure all things
Thanks a lot for this article. Jesus transcends time and space, and so as Catholics, we are very blessed to always have our Lord in the tabernacle, (in the Holy Eucharist). What a wonder! What a mervelous deed God has done for us!
On that morning when Christ rose from the dead, he appeared to men who had began to lose hope and opened their eyes to what the scriptures foretold; that first he was to die and be raised from the dead. This is the truth and all who believe are raised to a new life . In the passion of christ is all our hope. WHAT ELSE WILL HE NOT DO FOR US IF HE COULD LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US? Unless what we ask is not compartible with his will for us.
This article was really very helpful for we Catholic and also for the non Catholics.I hope there will be more article like this in future. So that I can send it to as many people as I know.Thank You Father for a wonderful article which help us to grow more in catholic faith.