Easter and the Easter Season

Easter Sunday is over, but the Easter Season has just begun. It will last for another seven weeks. Why does the liturgy make the Easter Season so long? And how can we live this Season as God wants us to? That is what this page is all about. There are many different resources here to help answer this question.

The Taste of Victory: A Retreat Guide for Easter

The liturgical season of Advent lasts four weeks — almost six if you tack on the days from Christmas through Epiphany. The season of Lent lasts six weeks. And the liturgical season of Easter lasts... seven weeks: from Easter Sunday through Pentecost Sunday. Of all the special liturgical seasons, Easter is the longest.
What do you usually do for Advent and Christmas? Certainly you usually do something — after all, they are special liturgical seasons. What do you usually do for Lent? No doubt you think about that question every year as Ash Wednesday draws closer. But what about Easter?

Join Fr. John Bartunek, LC for "The Taste of Victory: A Retreat Guide for Easter" from RCSpirituality.org.

Below you will find 4 videos and a PDF that goes with the videos.

This is a wonderful resource for you to learn how to open yourself up to the Risen Christ and all the grace and blessings he won for you!

Here is a suggested format to follow:
Video 1: Introduction
Video 2: First Meditation - Fearful Yet Overjoyed
Video 3: Second Meditation - The Joy of Victory
Video 4: Conference - The Symbols of Baptism - Our Claim in Christ's Victory

First Meditation: Fearful Yet Overjoyed

This meditation-starter begins with a leisurely read-through of Matthew 8, verses 1-10 — the first post-Resurrection appearance of Jesus described in the Gospels, then goes back through these sacred words, taking them verse by verse, calmly savoring whatever God wants to show us for his glory and our growth.
Join Fr. John Bartunek, LC for the first meditation starter of The Taste of Victory, "Fearful Yet Overjoyed", from RCSpirituality.org.

The Taste of Victory: First Meditation from Retreat Guide on Vimeo.

Second Meditation: The Joy of Victory

What is the primary sentiment of Easter? Without a doubt, it’s joy. Joy is the melody of the Easter liturgy, of the entire Easter season. Joy is the mark of Easter, the joy of everlasting victory over the enemies of God and man. Easter’s name, indeed, is joy.
Join Fr. John Bartunek, LC for the second meditation starter of The Taste of Victory, "The Joy of Victory", from RCSpirituality.org.

The Taste of Victory: Second Meditation from Retreat Guide on Vimeo.

Conference: The Symbols of Baptism - Our Claim in Christ's Victory

The day we were baptized, the universe was radically altered. On that day our everlasting spiritual soul was rescued from original sin’s slavery to the devil. On that day, Christ’s Easter victory became our Easter victory; his Resurrection became the promise of our resurrection. On that day, the waters of baptism brought the very life of God into our souls, making us into children of God, brothers and sisters of Christ, and active members of his Church.

The Taste of Victory: Conference from Retreat Guide on Vimeo.

Catholic Q&A: The Meaning and Effects of the Resurrection of Jesus

By Fr. Rick Poblocki

What is the ultimate meaning of Christ’s Resurrection?
“The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ’s works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by His Resurrection has given proof of His divine authority, which he had promised” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 651).

What is meant when the Nicene Creed used at Mass speaks of Christ’s Resurrection in terms of the phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures“?
“Christ’s Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus Himself during His early life (Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:7; Luke 24:6-7, 26-27, 44-48). The phrase ‘in accordance with the Scriptures’ (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; cf. also the Nicene Creed) indicates that Christ’s Resurrection fulfilled these predictions” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 652).

How is Christ’s Resurrection related to His Divinity?
“The truth of Christ’s divinity [i.e. that Jesus Christ is God] is confirmed by His Resurrection. He had said: ‘When you lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He’ (John 8:28). The Resurrection of the Crucified One shows that he was truly ‘I Am,’ the Son of God and God Himself. So St. Paul could declare to the Jews: ‘What God promised to the fathers, this He has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten You’ (Acts of the Apostles 13:32-34; Psalm 2:7)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 653).

How is the Resurrection of Christ related to the Incarnation?
The Resurrection and Incarnation are connected to each other, because in order to “raise up” our fallen human nature in the Resurrection, the Son of God had to become “Man.” Therefore, the Resurrection is the fulfillment or the reason why God became Man. The Incarnation is defined as “the fact that the Son of God assumed human nature and became man in order to accomplish our salvation in that same human nature” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary, p. 883). “Christ’s Resurrection is closely linked to the Incarnation of God’s Son and is its fulfillment in accordance with God’s eternal plan” (Catechism, 653).

What are the two aspects of the “Paschal Ministry”?
“The Paschal Mystery has two aspects: by His Death, Christ liberates us from sin; by His Resurrection, He opens for us the way to a new life” (Catechism, 654).

  • Paschal Mystery mean’s “Christ’s work of redemption accomplished principally by His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and glorious Ascension, whereby “dying he destroyed our death, rising He restored our life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary, p. 891; Cf. also: 654, 1067). The Introduction to Palm Sunday defines the Paschal Mystery in these simple terms: “Today we gather together to herald…Our Lord’s Paschal Mystery, that is to say, of His Passion and Resurrection” (Roman Missal, 3rd Edition: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, no. 5).

  • Passion comes from the Latin word passio (to suffer) and means “the suffering and death of Jesus” (Glossary, p. 892; 572, 602-616).


What is the nature of the “new life” given to us by Jesus’ Resurrection?
The “new life” opened to us by Jesus’ Resurrection includes these aspects of our redemption:

  1. This new life is above all a justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, ‘so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:4; cf. also Romans 4:25). Justification means “the gracious action of God which frees us from sin and communicates (i.e. gives to us) the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22; Catechism, Glossary, p. 885). Justification involves the remission of sins, and the sanctification (i.e. being made “holy” by God) and renewal of the interior human person (Catechism, 1987-1989). Remission of sins means “the forgiveness of sins, which is accomplished in us through faith and Baptism” (Catechism, Glossary, p. 896). Faith and Baptism come as a result of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
    Sanctification means “to make holy.” Sanctification is the healing of our human nature that was wounded or damaged first by Original Sin, and then by the actual sins we commit (i.e. our Mortal and Venial Sins). We are sanctified or healed in our nature by God’s Grace – which gives us a share (participation in) in the actual life of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If we “share” or participate in the life of a God Who is All-holy and Immortal, that sharing in God’s life makes us holy and immortal. Sanctifying Grace is the grace that gives us a share in God’s life. Adam and Eve lost this participation in God’s life when they committed Original Sin. We gain God’s life back through Sanctifying Grace given in Baptism.

  2. Justification consists in both victory over death caused by sin and a new participation in grace” (Ephesians 2:4-5; 1 Peter 1:3).

  3. It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ’s brethren, as Jesus Himself called His disciples after His Resurrection: “Go and tell My brethren” (Matthew 28:10; John 2017). Filial adoption is the name given to the process in which god “adopts” us, or makes of us His sons and daughters: “He is destined us in love to be His sons” and “to be conformed in the Image of His Son” through “the Spirit of sonship” (Ephesians 1:4-5, 9; Romans 8:15, 29; Catechism 257).


What is the nature of our sonship in Christ?
“We are the brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in His Resurrection” (Catechism, 654).

  • “Not by nature”: by this phrase the Catechism is making it clear that those who “share in God’s” life do not “become God” in the sense that our nature is somehow changed into God’s Nature. We always will be human; but god will allow us to share in His Life, Immortality, etc.

  • A real share in God’s life means that we really and actually share in God’s life as His adoptive children. The best way of picturing this is the analogy of a piece of metal placed in a fire: while always staying a piece of metal, by growing hot, glowing, and being able to burn what it touches, the metal “takes on” the properties or characteristics of the fire or flame – without becoming the fire itself. So it is with us who share in God’s life.


What will cause our resurrection from the dead?
“…Christ’s Resurrection – and the risen Christ Himself – is the principle and source of our future resurrection: ‘Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep…for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all remain alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22; Catechism, 655).

  • “The principle and source”: this phrase means that Jesus Himself and His Resurrection will be the CAUSE of our rising.


When does this “new life” in Christ, leading to our resurrection, begin?
It begins with Baptism. We are already participating or sharing in God’s life – but this life will only come to completion when we are raised from the dead. And yet, even now “the risen Christ lives in the hearts of His faithful while they await that fulfillment. In Christ, Christians “have tasted…the powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5) and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may ‘live no longer for themselves but for Him Who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15; Cf. Colossians 3:1-3; Catechism, 655).

Will only Christians be saved by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ?
God desires that all people be saved – even those “outside” the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is the presupposition for those “outside” the Catholic Church to be saved. This means that if someone knows and understands that the Catholic Church is the true Church of Christ, then they are obliged to embrace the Faith: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). This means that Christ made the Catholic Church a necessary means of salvation, and commanded all to enter it, so that a person must be connected with the Church in some way to be saved (Cf. The New St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism, no. 2, Question 167, p. 80).

How can persons who are not members of the Catholic Church or even non-Christians be saved?
Persons who are not members of the Catholic Church and non-Christians can be saved, if through no fault of their own they do not know that the Catholic Church is the true Church, and yet, they love God, try to do His Will and follow His commandments – for in this way they are connected with the Church by desire. Since Christ commands us to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them all that Christ commanded (Matthew 28:19-20), we must pray and direct our efforts to helping all enter the Catholic Church where the fullness of the means of salvation lies.

Where was the Lord Jesus between the time He died on God Friday and when He rose on Easter morning?
The Fifth Article of the Apostles Creed tells us that from the time He died on Good Friday until His Resurrection on Easter Sunday, “He descended into Hell…” (Catechism, p. 164).

Did the Son of God actually die in His human nature?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “By the expression ‘He descended into Hell,’ the Apostles’ Creed confesses that Jesus really did die and through His death for us conquered death and the devil ‘who has power over death’ (Hebrews 2:14)” (See CCC, no. 636).

What do we mean by this article of Faith? Is it Scriptural?
Catholic belief in Jesus’ descent into “hell” is entirely Scriptural, as Ephesians 4:9-10; Acts 3:15; Romans 8:11; and 1 Corinthians 15:20 show us. Of course, this leads the Catechism to assert that “The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was ‘raised from the dead’ presuppose that the Crucified One sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to His Resurrection.” (CCC, no. 632). When the Apostles preached that Jesus “descended into Hell,” they meant “that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in His Soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there” (1 Peter 3:18-19; CCC, no. 633).

Did Jesus descend to the same place the Devil and the damned are?
No. The mention of the word “hell” in the Apostles’ Creed does not refer to the “hell of the damned.” The “hell of the damned” is the state of eternal separation from God (freely chosen by those who refuse to repent of their sins). Jesus did not go there! The use of the word “hell” in the Apostles’ Creed is an old Victorian English translation of the Hebrew word Sheol (pronounced shay-yoll) and the Greek word Hades (pronounced hay-deez) – the designations given to the realm where the dead were believed to go after they died. Because the ancient Jews and early Christians shared with other people of their times the same way the universe was pictured, the Sacred Scriptures and the Apostles’ Creed reflect the common belief of the time that the dead went to dwell under the surface of the earth when they died (that’s why Jesus descended in to “hell,” i.e. the realm of dead!). Jesus did not go to the place where the Devil and the damned are! The ancient world believed that there was an area in Sheol/Hades where the wicked would suffer perpetual torment and punishment for the evil they did. This place of torment and punishment was called Tartarus (pronounced tar-tar-roose). Jesus did not visit Tartarus!

In what form did Jesus visit all of those waiting for Him in Sheol/Hades?
The Catechism tells us that Jesus visited them “in His human Soul united to His Divine Person” (CCC, no. 637).

  • At His death on the Cross, Jesus’ body and soul separated from each other – as it happens with all who die.

  • Jesus’ Body was separated from His Soul, but still united to His Being as the Son of God.

  • Jesus’ Soul was separated from His Body, but also still united to His Being as the Son of God.

  • When Jesus visited the realm of the dead, He left His body on earth in the tomb, and went to visit the dead with his Soul united to His Being as the Son of God. With this visit He released them and allowed them to enter Heaven.


Were the people in Sheol/Hades able to see God?
The souls in the realm of the dead (Hell/Sheol/Hades) were not able to behold the heavenly vision of God (the Beatific Vision) until Jesus their Redeemer visited them and opened the gates of Heaven to them. These holy and righteous souls were awaiting Jesus to rescue them and bring them into God’s Presence. It was only when the Lord Jesus went down into the realm of the dead, that “He opened heaven’s gates for the Just who had gone before Him” (CCC, 637).

When Jesus descended into Hell, did he release the damned or put an end to Hell?
No, Jesus did not descend into the hell of the damned to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the Hell of damnation. He descended to the realm of the dead in order to free the just who had died awaiting the redemption He would bring. The Council of Rome (745 AD), Pope Benedict XII in Cum dudum (1341) and the Catechism, 633 (Cf. footnote 483) all definitively teach this truth.

How was the descent into hell connected with God’s saving plan?
The descent into hell is the last phase of Jesus’ mission as Messiah. The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. St. Peter writes: “The Gospel was preached even to the dead!” (1 Peter 4:6). It “shows the spread of Christ’s redemptive work to all men of all times and places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption” (CCC, no. 634).
Fr. Rick Poblocki is the Pastor of St. Josaphat’s Parish in Cheektowaga, NY. This article also appears in St. Josaphat’s Weekly Bulletin, available for view in its entirety at www.st-josaphat.com. Don’t miss Fr. Rick on the Tuesday and Thursday Open Forum Editions of Calling All Catholics, weekdays at 5pm on The Station of the Cross Catholic Radio Network and the NEW iCatholicRadio App. Used with permission.

From the Easter Vigil

The Exsultet: The Proclamation of Easter

Read a commentary on the Exsultet by Father Michael J. Flynn.

Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven,
exult, let Angel ministers of God exult,
let the trumpet of salvation
sound aloud our mighty King's triumph!

Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her,
ablaze with light from her eternal King,
let all corners of the earth be glad,
knowing an end to gloom and darkness.

Rejoice, let Mother Church also rejoice,
arrayed with the lightning of his glory,
let this holy building shake with joy,
filled with the mighty voices of the peoples.

(Therefore, dearest friends,
standing in the awesome glory of this holy light,
invoke with me, I ask you,
the mercy of God almighty,
that he, who has been pleased to number me,
though unworthy, among the Levites,
may pour into me his light unshadowed,
that I may sing this candle's perfect praises.)

(V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.)
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, with ardent love of mind and heart
and with devoted service of our voice,
to acclaim our God invisible, the almighty Father,
and Jesus Christ, our Lord, his Son, his Only Begotten.

Who for our sake paid Adam's debt to the eternal Father,
and, pouring out his own dear Blood,
wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness.

These, then, are the feasts of Passover,
in which is slain the Lamb, the one true Lamb,
whose Blood anoints the doorposts of believers.

This is the night,
when once you led our forebears, Israel's children,
from slavery in Egypt
and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea.

This is the night
that with a pillar of fire
banished the darkness of sin.

This is the night
that even now, throughout the world,
sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices
and from the gloom of sin,
leading them to grace
and joining them to his holy ones.

This is the night,
when Christ broke the prison-bars of death
and rose victorious from the underworld.

Our birth would have been no gain,
had we not been redeemed.

O wonder of your humble care for us!
O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!

O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!

O happy fault
that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!

O truly blessed night,
worthy alone to know the time and hour
when Christ rose from the underworld!

This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me,
and full of gladness.

The sanctifying power of this night
dispels wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.
On this, your night of grace, O holy Father,
accept this candle, a solemn offering,
the work of bees and of your servants’ hands,
an evening sacrifice of praise,
this gift from your most holy Church.

But now we know the praises of this pillar,
which glowing fire ignites for God's honor,
a fire into many flames divided,
yet never dimmed by sharing of its light,
for it is fed by melting wax,
drawn out by mother bees
to build a torch so precious.

O truly blessed night,
when things of heaven are wed to those of earth,
and divine to the human.

Therefore, O Lord,
we pray you that this candle,
hallowed to the honor of your name,
may persevere undimmed,
to overcome the darkness of this night.

Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,
and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.

May this flame be found still burning
by the Morning Star:
the one Morning Star who never sets,
Christ your Son,
who, coming back from death's domain,
has shed his peaceful light on humanity,
and lives and reigns for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

Excerpt from the English translation of the Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved

Easter Sunday

1

EASTER – THE MEANING OF THE FEAST

Easter is a 50 day celebration! Here's something to remind us of the "reason for the season."

On the first Easter Sunday, the serpent whose bite ruined paradise was finally vanquished. For a tribute to the Lords' resurrection that will really bring home the joy of the season to you and your family, check this out now!

Marcellino D'Ambrosio (Dr. Italy)
This post is also available in: Spanish, Italian

The meaning of Easter is more than springtime and dyed eggs. The significance of Easter is that not only sin but death has been conquered by the risen Christ who foretold his own resurrection from the dead before he gave his life for us on Good Friday.

The serpent’s bite was a deadly one. The venom had worked its way deep into the heart of humanity, doing its gruesome work. The anti-venom was unavailable till He appeared. One drop was all that was needed, so potent was this antidote. Yet it was not like Him to be stingy. The sacrifice of His entire life poured out to the last drop at the foot of the cross – This was the Son’s answer to the Problem of Sin.

THE PROBLEM OF DEATH
Three days later came the Father’s equally extravagant answer to the Problem of Death. For Jesus was not simply brought back to life like Lazarus. That would be resuscitation, the return to normal, mortal life. Yes, Lazarus ultimately had to go through it all again . . . the dying, the grieving family, the burial. Jesus did not “come back.” He passed over, passed through. Death, as St. Paul said, would have no more power over him.

If you said that physical death was not the worst consequence of sin, you’d be right. Separation from God, spiritual death, is much more fearsome. But enough of this talk of physical death as beautiful and natural. It is neither. Our bodies are not motor vehicles driven around by our souls. We do not junk them when they wear out and buy another (that’s why reincarnation is all wrong). Rather, our bodies are essential to who we are. For human beings, body and immortal souls are intimately intertwined, making us so different from both angels and animals. Death separates what God has joined. It is natural that we shudder before it. Even the God-man trembled in the Garden.

So Jesus confronts death head on. The ancient Roman Easter Sequence, a traditional part of the Easter liturgy, highlights the drama: “Mors et vitae duello, conflixere mirando. Dux vitae mortuus regnat vivus.” (“Death and life dueled in a marvelous conflict; the Dead Ruler of Life reigns Alive!”).

RESURRECTION – A NEW HUMANITY
Jesus endured the wrenching of body and soul for our sake and came out the other side endowed with a new, different, glorified humanity. How does the Bible describe it? Well, Mary Magdalene did not recognize the Risen Christ at first. The disciples walking to Emmaus didn’t recognize him either. But Doubting Thomas shows us that his wounds were still evident. And though he could pass through locked doors, he proved he was not a ghost by asking for something to eat. Paul speaks of a “spiritual body” in I Corinthians 15, which sounds like an oxymoron to me. But we have to take off our shoes here, realize that we are on holy ground, and that we do not have words adequate to describe the awesome reality of the new humanity he won for us on that first Easter.

A SHARE IN HIS RISEN LIFE
For resurrection is not something that He keeps for Himself. All that He has he shares with us: His Father, His mother, His Spirit, His body, blood, soul, and divinity, and even His risen life. And we can begin to share in this risen Life now, experiencing its regenerating power in our souls and even in our bodies. We have access to it in many ways, but especially in the Eucharist. For the body of Christ received in this sacrament is his risen, glorified body, so that we too will live forever (read John 6:40-65).

THE FINAL EASTER
Each of us will pass through physical death, but not alone. He will be with us, just as the Father was with Him as He made his perilous passage. And while we will experience indescribable joy when our souls “see” him face to face, this is not the end of the story. He will return. Then His resurrection will have its ultimate impact. Joy will finally be full on that final Easter when he makes our bodies like his own, in glory. “We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen!”

For more on Palm Sunday and Holy Week, see the Resurrection section of the Crossroads Initiative Library.

3 Historical Facts About the Resurrection All Skeptics Must Reckon With

by ChurchPOP Editor - March 26, 2018

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15.17-19)

Christianity is not just a philosophy or a moral system; the entirety of the Christian faith depends on certain incredible historical facts. If certain things did not actually happen, then the whole religion is useless.

One of the most important is the real, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrection of Christ confirmed Christ’s identity as the Son of God and his defeat over Satan, sin, and death. Everything hinges on this miracle.

So did it really happen? Here are 3 historical facts about the resurrection that all skeptics must reckon with:

[See also: The Beautiful Way NYC Commemorated Easter in 1956]
[See also: What Easter Sunday Mass Looked Liked in 1941]

1) The Body Is Nowhere to Be Found
The easiest way someone in the 1st century (or even today) could prove that Jesus did not rise from the dead would be to simply produce the body.

After his death on the cross, Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb, a giant stone was rolled in front of the entrance, the stone was sealed, and Roman guards were placed there to protect it. And yet his body vanished without a trace.

2) There Were Hundreds of Eye-Witnesses to the Risen Jesus
Christians don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus merely because his body disappeared. No, the risen Jesus actually appeared to people. And we’re not talking about just his inner circle of Apostles – perhaps to those most “fanatically” devoted to him – we’re talking about hundreds of people.
St. Paul records in his first letter to the Corinthians:

“He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” (1 Cor 15.4-8)

Scholars believe St. Paul wrote this letter somewhere around A.D. 54, which explains why he says “most of whom are still living.” In other words, if he wasn’t telling the truth, he could have easily be proven wrong.

3) Those Witnesses Were Willing to Die Terrible Deaths for What They Knew to Be the Truth
Some skeptics argue that Jesus’ followers somehow stole his body and then lied about having seen the risen Christ. But if that’s the case, then why would they be willing to leave behind their religious communities, families, friends, livelihoods, and – for many – their lives in gruesome ways, all for a lie?
The answer of course is that they didn’t: they really had seen the risen Christ, and they knew that this changed everything – so much so that they were willing to abandon everything for him.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

[See also: “Christ is Risen!”: Your Easter Playlist]

https://churchpop.com/2016/03/26/historical-facts-resurrection-skeptics/

Easter and the Suffering of the Faithful

FR. NNAMDI MONEME, OMV

Was it not necessary that the Christ would suffer these things and enter into His glory?

She was a Filipina religious sister who had accepted to leave her beloved country to serve for close to 17 years in the foreign missions in the Middle East. She had contracted an incurable disease while on this mission and she was brought home to die. The recurrent question in her mind was, “Why me?” She had given her life to serve Christ in His Church, embraced the vocation to consecrated life and was generous enough to spend so much of her life serving those in need in a foreign land. What has she to show for all her lifelong commitment to Christ and to the Gospel? An incurable sickness and a long wait for death? It appears it was all a waste of time and energy on her part. Regardless of our holiness or sinfulness, we can never really understand why such suffering comes our way in this life as we strive to follow Christ.

This Easter season, as we contemplate the person of Jesus, all the good that He did on this earth, the unjust sufferings that He endured from men and demons, and how His Father raised Him from the grave, we realize that the suffering and death of Jesus were not in vain.

St. Peter explains to the Jews the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Pentecost event in today’s First Reading by telling the story of Jesus. Jesus, the one “without sin,”(Heb 4:15) “who did all things well,”(Mk 7:37) was also “commended by God with mighty deeds, wonders and signs.” By divine plan, this same Jesus suffered an unjust death and was “killed by lawless men.” His suffering and death was never in vain because “God raised Him up,” and, “exalted at the right hand of God, He (Jesus) received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you both see and hear.” Because of Jesus’ bond with the Father by the Spirit, His sufferings and death is not in vain but His suffering has become the pathway to glory for Him and the means for us to receive His own Spirit.

Thus, we also gained a generous outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit today because Jesus Christ was crucified unjustly and raised by the Father into glory. By possessing this same Spirit today, we too are assured that our own sufferings is not going to be in vain but the way to our own glory. “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling in you.”(Rom 8:11)

In the Gospel, the two disciples on the way to Emmaus appear to have lost all hope because of the suffering and death of Jesus, “He was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. How our chief priests and rulers both handed Him over to a sentence of death and crucified Him. We were hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel.” There is a sense that all their years of devotedness to Jesus and His Gospel, leaving all to follow Jesus as His disciples was in vain. Jesus replied, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and so enter into His glory?” He reminds them that, in the eternal plan of the Father, His suffering and death was never in vain; but suffering is necessary for Him to enter into His glory.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when we have the Spirit of Jesus in us, we have the life of Christ in us as God’s own children and we truly belong to God. By this same Spirit in us, we can do the things that Jesus did and endured with love for God and for our neighbors. By this Spirit, we share in the suffering of Christ and receive divine guarantee that our sufferings will never be in vain but that God will surely bring good out of the evil that we suffer for Christ and with Christ. By this same Spirit, we share in the glory of Christ if only we too share in His suffering. In the words of St. Peter, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”(1Pet 4:14)

St. Peter reiterates this point by stressing that the blood of Christ shed on the cross was not in vain but became the price that ransomed us from sin, “You were ransomed from the futile conduct, handed on by our ancestors, not with perishable things like silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ as a spotless unblemished lamb.” We have faith and hope in God because Christ suffered while bearing in Himself the Spirit of love and the Father raised Him from the dead by the same Spirit, “Through Him (Christ) we believe in God who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

We may not understand completely why we experience suffering and pain in this life as we strive to do God’s will and Him more faithfully. It may be the emotional pains from events and relationships, physical pains, spiritual sufferings from persistent temptations, moral failures that just seem to plague us for life, etc. we cannot pray these sufferings away nor avoid them completely. The “Why?” question seem unanswerable. The Spirit of Jesus Christ in us is God’s guarantee to us that He will surely bring good out of the suffering that we experience in this life and make these sufferings a pathway to our own glory if we suffer like Christ and with Christ.

Our Sunday readings show us some ways of dealing with the sufferings that we face as Jesus’ disciples.

1. First of all, we must nourish and grow constantly in the life of the Spirit within us. Like the disciples in today’s Gospel, we must listen to the word of God, letting His words “burn within our hearts.” Listening to God’s words, we realize more deeply God’s intense desire to share His own glory with us through our sharing in the suffering of His Son.

2. Secondly, we invite Jesus into each and every aspect of our lives, to abide in us and to take absolute control. Our invitation to Him, “Stay with us,” must be accompanied by a striving for complete surrender and purity of heart.

3. Thirdly, we consciously unite our sufferings with Christ and see our sufferings as a sharing in His own suffering.

The Risen Christ is present in us through the Holy Spirit as we celebrate the Eucharist today. Only Jesus Christ can transform our sufferings and give them meaning and life-changing power by the power of the Spirit. We cannot fathom the good that God can do with our sufferings united to those of Christ and borne with His Spirit. Sinners can be converted, just souls can be strengthened, souls in purgatory can be relieved and released as we unite our sufferings with those of Jesus by the power of the Spirit that we have received in Baptism. Apart from Jesus and deprived of the Spirit that He won for us by His paschal mystery, our sufferings are useless and in vain.

This Easter, let our Eucharist today be an occasion of exchange where we receive the Spirit of Jesus, surrender our sufferings and pains to Him, and allow Christ Jesus to mysteriously bring good out of them for us and for the entire Body of Christ. We may never understand why these sufferings come. But the life of Christ in us assures us that, if like Jesus, we bear the Spirit of love within us as we suffer for Christ and with Christ, our sufferings will never be in vain but will become for us a Spirit-guaranteed pathway to our full participation in Christ Jesus’ heavenly glory.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!

50 Ways to Celebrate Easter

by Meg

Well, the Triduum was powerful, with its veiled statues and empty tabernacles and pillars of fire…
it was a whirlwind couple of days, but now Easter has come and gone and we’re ready to move back into the Ordinary.

Except that there’s nothing Ordinary about it. It’s Easter! Every day this week is Easter Sunday and the Easter season won’t be over till June! The Church in her wisdom asks us to fast for 40 days and follows it up with 50 days of feasting. But (as with Christmas), we tend to forget it’s Easter by, oh, Tuesday and we lose out on some incredible riches. And I’m not just talking jelly beans, either. So how about this Easter we try to live like an Easter people?1

So here you have it: 50 ways to keep those alleluias coming all Easter long.2 It’s not as structured as the Advent and Lent Boot Camps, but it gives you a jumping off point. See if you can’t get all these in this season–and let me know if you do! I’ll devise some prize.3

  1. Figure out which of your Lenten resolutions shouldn’t stop just because it’s Easter. Don’t stop praying the Rosary or going to Mass because Jesus rose. Don’t start cursing or being uncharitable either. Easter shouldn’t be a time to relax our pursuit of Christ but to rejoice in the effort we’re making. You don’t have to fast as hardcore as you did for Lent, but don’t quit the prayer and the almsgiving while you’re about it.

  2. Change the background on your phone to some stunning piece of artwork celebrating the resurrection.

  3. Buy Easter candy half price this week. Make sure to buy enough to last you 50 days.

  4. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

  5. Check out Maximus of Turin’s triumphant reflection on Easter.

  6. Use the word alleluia whenever possible. Try to replace all other positive exclamations with this one.4

  7. Have a party to celebrate the canonizations of JPII and John XXIII. Eat kielbasa and pierogies with cannoli and gelato for dessert. Read poetry. Open all the windows. Go skiing. Tell jokes. How very papal all those things are!

  8. Read this excerpt from a homily by St. Ephrem the Syrian.

  9. Have dessert every night. Explain to your kids that they get to have all the cake because Jesus loves them.

  10. Wait until Easter is half over. Give someone a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, saying, “Happy Easter!”

  11. Read the book of Acts.

  12. Go to Mass on Ascension Thursday—even if there is no Ascension Thursday in your diocese.

  13. Have an Easter party. In June.

  14. Greet everyone by saying, “He is risen!” Judge them if they don’t respond correctly.5

  15. Make a holy hour every week in Easter.

  16. Pray Christ the Lord Is Ris’n Today, especially verse 4. Consider getting 1 Cor 15:55 tattooed on your face. Decide against it.

  17. Change your Facebook cover picture to something celebrating the Resurrection–and not something cheesy or kitschy, but something that will cause people to gasp for the beauty.

  18. Read the popes’ recent Easter messages. Tweet the highlights.

  19. Check out this piece by St. Peter Chrysologus.

  20. Any time you would have said, “I’ll pray for you,” ask instead, “Can I pray with you?” Then get comfortable praying out loud.

  21. Choose joy.

  22. Get an Easter-themed manicure. (I usually just paint my nails gold, but Easter lilies would be pretty sweet if you can find someone to do them.) When people comment on it, tell them it’s for Easter. Be prepared to explain that it’s still Easter.

  23. Don’t ever have an Easter egg hunt on Holy Saturday. If you already did, have another one in reparation, and switch your family tradition to Easter egg hunts during Easter. You have 50 days to hunt eggs—don’t do it on the one day Jesus is in the tomb!!

  24. Pray a rosary every day. Feel free to use the glorious mysteries whenever you want.

  25. Meditate on this passage from St. Augustine.

  26. Change the message on your alarm to something that will remind you to rejoice from the moment your feet hit the floor.

  27. Wish everyone you meet a happy Easter. Even when it starts to get weird.

  28. Make a pilgrimage to a shrine in your area.

  29. Treat others as you would treat Christ. (Here are 100 ways to try.)

  30. Do a Bible study for 7 weeks. Read each of the appearances of Jesus after the Resurrection.6

  31. Go to confession. Twice.

  32. Start reading the whole Bible through in a year.

  33. Trade your Starbucks habit for a McCafé habit. Give the money you save to the missions.

  34. Read this passage from a letter to Diognetus.

  35. Stand on a street corner with a sign that says “Free prayers!”

  36. “Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of Christ risen.” (Mother Teresa)

  37. Memorize 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

  38. Choose a spiritual book to read during Easter. Try The Imitation of Christ or Practicing the Presence of God.

  39. Forgive.

  40. Find a Eucharistic procession to take part in for the Feast of Corpus Christi. If there isn’t one, start one.

  41. Pray the Exultet.

  42. Keep holy water in your house. Bless yourself every time you pass it.

  43. Read this sermon by Theodore the Studite: “How precious the gift of the cross, how splendid to contemplate!”

  44. Give a “welcome home” present to someone who’s just entered the Church.

  45. Stop in to visit the Blessed Sacrament every day.

  46. Change your ringtone to some sweet version of an Alleluia—but maybe not the Leonard Cohen one. It probably won’t evoke Easter joy among your more secular friends.7

  47. Meditate on At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing.

  48. Wear red on Pentecost. All red.

  49. Tell someone about Jesus.

  50. Orient your life toward being a saint. As yourself at the end of each day: Did I live today like heaven is the only thing that matters? When making decisions, ask yourself: What would I do if I were a saint?

Our New Life in the Risen Christ

DEACON MICHAEL BICKERSTAFF

What more fitting conclusion to a week of drama wrought by sin could there be than the triumph of Life over death! There is so much about Easter to help us live our lives in our day. Surely we can more fully embrace all that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ means for us today if we go back in time and place ourselves in the lives of the Apostles and disciples who experienced that first Easter Sunday first-hand.


The Beginning of Belief and Understanding

For three years, the Apostles and other disciples had traveled with Jesus, learning from him as best as they could all of what God the Father was revealing to them through His Son. It was a time of new discovery and unimaginable joy as they spent their days with the One who had created them. But we mustn’t make the mistake of thinking that they fully understood.

At some point during the twelve months that preceded the Resurrection, Jesus led His disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi and asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”(Matthew 16:15) It was Simon Peter who replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”(Matthew 16:16) To which Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

But we know from the closing verse of the Gospel reading for the Mass of the Day for Easter Sunday that Peter and John, the two disciples that most loved the Lord, did not yet understand fully all that was taking place on that first Lord’s Day: “For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” (John 20:9)

I am reminded of that earlier episode when all of those who had been following Jesus departed from Him and returned to their former way of life after the Bread of Life discourse in John 6. Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked if they would depart also. It was Simon Peter, always the impetuous one, who declared, not that they understood His teaching on the Eucharistic Presence, but rather, that they believed without understanding: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68) I can so relate to Peter! God’s truth has been revealed to him, and he so wants to understand, but for now, he settles for belief. But that belief is not yet mature—it is still child-like. That is how we are to approach the Lord—understanding will come in time if we remain faithful.

And now, on this Sunday morning following the Friday we call “Good” because of God’s great love for us manifested on the Cross, we meet these very Apostles and disciples, whose lives are so turned upside down, yet again. During the three preceding years, they have come to believe, but not yet understand. Can you not imagine their anguish? The One they came to believe in, to place all their hopes in, the One they grew in love with day by day, has been crucified and has died. They believe Him to be buried in the sepulcher.

The Pain of Loss and Betrayal

How much their lives were impacted and devastated by these events, we can only imagine—and what we imagine is probably not severe enough. When Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested, they all fled in fear. They abandoned their Lord. Of His Apostles, only Peter and John followed Jesus to the courtyard of the high priest as He was taken away. And there, Peter denied His Lord, said he did not know the man—probably denying Him while seeing Him face to face. Of His Apostles, the Gospels record that only John was present at the foot of the Cross as Jesus was dying. All of the Apostles, each in his own way, were suffering due to their abandonment of the Lord and His death. Their world must have seemed lost. Can you begin to imagine?

And not only the Apostles, but there were also others who loved Him so much, and they were in anguish. The Gospel of John tells us that at the rising of the sun on that day—the day after the Sabbath—while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala arrived at the sepulchre to anoint the Lord’s body. From the other Gospels we learn she was accompanied by other women, including, Mary—the mother of James, and Salome. A great earthquake had occurred and the stone, which had closed the sepulchre, was rolled away and they saw that the tomb was empty. Now what? Could a further indignity have been done to the Lord? Had they taken away His body… and to where? John, the beloved disciple, who loved Jesus so fervently, gave honor to Mary of Magdala, who also loved Jesus fervently, by mentioning only her in his Gospel account. I don’t think we can hardly begin to understand their troubled hearts—but we must try, for in so understanding, we might begin to recognize our own anguish when we are separated from the Lord. Mary could not even wait for the sun to rise above the horizon—she had to be there to anoint the Lord’s body at the earliest moment permitted by the Law. But His dead body was not there.

Where Have They Taken Him?

Mary of Magdala ran to where the Apostles, crying aloud her anguish, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” (John 20:2)
The two Apostles who most loved the Lord ran to the sepulchre—the text states that John ran faster and arrived first, followed by Peter. He sees the empty tomb and stops, but Peter rushes in and looks over everything carefully. How fast and hard must his heart been beating. Where is He? What’s happened? And then, a bit of light begins to penetrate both Peter and John to their very souls.

The cloths in which the Lord was buried would surely have stuck to His bloodied body, why were they here in the tomb and why were they arranged as they were with the head covering folded and set aside? Surely this is not what they would have expected to find if the authorities had taken away His body! A deepening belief… a small ray of understanding; were these their thoughts? Possibly!

It is said that they believed, but again, that closing verse (John 20:9) indicates yet a lack of understanding. Is there hope?

The Lord is Risen and What it Means

As the Gospel continues, we will learn of the encounter between the Risen Jesus and Mary of Magdala and her subsequent testimony to the Apostles. We will learn of His appearances to the Apostles. We will learn the rest of the story as they learn it. But try to imagine… try to place yourself in the lives of those disciples as they arose from rock bottom to new life and renewed hope and a strengthened faith! Is that not also our story? Have we not discovered in our lives for ourselves that resurrection can follow death and apparent defeat, no matter what forms it takes?

Of the crucifixion, St. Paul tells us, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24) Why… because the Resurrection is the rest of the story. What appeared at first to be Satan’s defeat over the “Author of Life”, is instead, shown to be the definitive victory of the Cross where the Resurrected Christ defeated death by rising from the dead.

A Look Ahead to New Life

This is what the Apostles came to understand through their post-resurrection encounters with Christ and through the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost… their lives were not over, they were just beginning—a gift from the One who makes all things new.

And this is what we must also come to believe—to believe in a way that utterly changes our lives. After traveling with the Lord through this Lent and His Passion and Death, we have arrived at new life—both during the remaining days of our life on earth and in fullness on the day of the Resurrection of our bodies when they will be reunited with our souls as the completion of time.

St. Paul, writing to the believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 15) calls Jesus Christ the first-fruits of those who have died—and others who are yet die—in order to teach them the reality of the resurrection of the dead. But in his Epistle to the Ephesians, he also places the significance of the Resurrection right in the middle of our daily lives on earth. He speaks of the reality that we were dead in our sins, but now we are raised to new life, set apart for holiness. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) Christ’s Resurrection has made it possible for us to live lives pleasing to God.

We no longer need doubt the strength of the Cross to overcome our weakness. It matters not where you are or where you have been in relation to God. Christ has made it possible to live by His grace. As St. Paul declares, “For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God, I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”(Galatians 2:19-20, emphasis added)

So as we celebrate the glorious Resurrection of the Lord this fine Easter Day, let us resolve to humbly surrender ourselves to the Lord, join our lives to His, dying as crucified with Him, and rising to new life with Him. Let this Easter be a turning point in our lives, freely and joyfully giving everything to Him. May you be blessed and filled with joy and new life in this Easter Season.
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! To Him be all praise, honor and glory!

On the Resurrection of the Lord*

(A HOMILY BY POPE LEO THE GREAT)

WE MUST ALL BE PARTAKERS IN CHRIST’S RESURRECTION LIFE

In my last sermon,** dearly-beloved, not inappropriately, as I think, we explained to you our participation in the cross of Christ, whereby the life of believers contains in itself the mystery of Easter, and thus what is honored at the feast is celebrated by our practice. And how useful this is you yourselves have proved, and by your devotion have learned, how greatly benefited souls and bodies are by longer fasts, more frequent prayers, and more liberal alms. For there can be hardly any one who has not profited by this exercise, and who has not stored up in the recesses of his conscience something over which he may rightly rejoice. But these advantages must be retained with persistent care, lest our efforts fall away into idleness, and the devil’s malice steal what GOD’S grace gave. Since, therefore, by our forty days’ observance we have wished to bring about this effect, that we should feel something of the Cross at the time of the LORD’S Passion, we must strive to be found partakers also of Christ’s Resurrection, and “pass from death unto life” [John 5:24], while we are in this body. For when a man is changed by some process from one thing into another, not to be what he was is to him an ending, and to be what he was not is a beginning. But the question is, to what a man either dies or lives: because there is a death, which is the cause of living, and there is a life, which is the cause of dying. And nowhere else but in this transitory world are both sought after, so that upon the character of our temporal actions depend the differences of the eternal retributions. We must die, therefore, to the devil and live to GOD: we must perish to iniquity that we may rise to righteousness. Let the old sink, that the new may rise; and since, as says the Truth, “no one can serve two masters” [Matthew 6:24], let not him be Lord who has caused the overthrow of those that stood, but Him Who has raised the fallen to victory.

GOD DID NOT LEAVE HIS SOUL IN HELL, NOR SUFFER HIS FLESH TO SEE CORRUPTION

Accordingly, since the Apostle says, “the first man is of the earth earthy, the second man is from heaven heavenly. As is the earthy, such also are they that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such also are they that are heavenly. As we have borne the image of the earthy, so let us also bear the image of Him Who is from heaven” [1 Corinthians 15:47-49], we must greatly rejoice over this change, whereby we are translated from earthly degradation to heavenly dignity through His unspeakable mercy, Who descended into our estate that He might promote us to His, by assuming not only the substance but also the conditions of sinful nature, and by allowing the impassibility of Godhead to be affected by all the miseries which are the lot of mortal manhood. And hence that the disturbed minds of the disciples might not be racked by prolonged grief, He with such wondrous speed shortened the three days’ delay which He had announced, that by joining the last part of the first and the first part of the third day to the whole of the second, He cut off a considerable portion of the period, and yet did not lessen the number of days. The Saviour’s Resurrection therefore did not long keep His soul in Hades, nor His flesh in the tomb; and so speedy was the quickening of His uncorrupted flesh that it bore a closer resemblance to slumber than to death, seeing that the Godhead, Which quitted not either part of the Human Nature which He had assumed, reunited by Its power that which Its power had separated.

CHRIST’S MANIFESTATIONS AFTER THE RESURRECTION SHOWED THAT HIS PERSON WAS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS BEFORE

And then there followed many proofs, whereon the authority of the Faith to be preached through the whole world might be based. And although the rolling away of the stone, the empty tomb, the arrangement of the linen cloths, and the angels who narrated the whole deed by themselves fully built up the truth of the LORD’S Resurrection, yet did He often appear plainly to the eyes both of the women and of the Apostles, not only talking with them, but also remaining and eating with them, and allowing Himself to be handled by the eager and curious hands of those whom doubt assailed. For to this end He entered when the doors were closed upon the disciples, and gave them the Holy Spirit by breathing on them, and after giving them the light of understanding opened the secrets of the Holy Scriptures, and again Himself showed them the wound in the side, the prints of the nails, and all the marks of His most recent Passion, whereby it might be acknowledged that in Him the properties of the Divine and Human Nature remained undivided, and we might in such sort know that the Word was not what the flesh is, as to confess GOD’S only Son to be both Word and Flesh.

BUT THOUGH IT IS THE SAME, IT IS ALSO GLORIFIED

The Apostle of the Gentiles, Paul, dearly-beloved, does not disagree with this belief, when he says, “even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know Him so no more” [2 Corinthians 5:16]. For the LORD’S Resurrection was not the ending, but the changing of the flesh, and His substance was not destroyed by His increase of power. The quality altered, but the nature did not cease to exist: the body was made impassible, which it had been possible to crucify: it was made incorruptible, though it had been possible to wound it. And properly is Christ’s flesh said not to be known in that state in which it had been known, because nothing remained passible in it, nothing weak, so that it was both the same in essence and not the same in glory. But what wonder if St. Paul maintains this about Christ’s body, when he says of all spiritual Christians, “wherefore henceforth we know no one after the flesh” [2 Corinthians 5:16]. Henceforth, he says, we begin to experience the resurrection in Christ, since the time when in Him, Who died for all, all our hopes were guaranteed to us. We do not hesitate in diffidence, we are not under the suspense of uncertainty, but having received an earnest of the promise, we now with the eye of faith see the things which will be, and rejoicing in the uplifting of our nature, we already possess what we believe.

BEING SAVED BY HOPE, WE MUST NOT FULFILL THE LUSTS OF THE FLESH

Let us not then be taken up with the appearances of temporal matters, neither let our contemplations be diverted from heavenly to earthly things. Things which as yet have for the most part not come to pass must be reckoned as accomplished: and the mind intent on what is permanent must fix its desires there, where what is offered is eternal. For although “by hope we were saved” [cf Romans 8:24], and still bear about with us a flesh that is corruptible and mortal, yet we are rightly said not to be in the flesh, if the fleshly affections do not dominate us, and are justified in ceasing to be named after that, the will of which we do not follow. And so, when the Apostle says, “make not provision for the flesh in the lusts thereof” [cf Romans 13:14], we understand that those things are not forbidden us, which conduce to health and which human weakness demands, but because we may not satisfy all our desires nor indulge in all that the flesh lusts after, we recognize that we are warned to exercise such self-restraint as not to permit what is excessive nor refuse what is necessary to the flesh, which is placed under the mind’s control. And hence the same Apostle says in another place, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourished and cherished it” [cf Ephesians 5:29]; in so far, of course, as it must be nourished and cherished not in vices and luxury, but with a view to its proper functions, so that nature may recover herself and maintain due order, the lower parts not prevailing wrongfully and debasingly over the higher, nor the higher yielding to the lower, lest if vices overpower the mind, slavery ensues where there should be supremacy.

OUR GODLY RESOLUTIONS MUST CONTINUE ALL THE YEAR ROUND, NOT BE CONFINED TO EASTER ONLY

Let GOD’S people then recognize that they are a new creation in Christ, and with all vigilance understand by Whom they have been adopted and Whom they have adopted. Let not the things, which have been made new, return to their ancient instability; and let not him who has “put his hand to the plough” [Luke 9:62] forsake his work, but rather attend to that which he sows than look back to that which he has left behind. Let no one fall back into that from which he has risen, but, even though from bodily weakness he still languishes under certain maladies, let him urgently desire to be healed and raised up. For this is the path of health through imitation of the Resurrection begun in Christ, whereby, notwithstanding the many accidents and falls to which in this slippery life the traveller is liable, his feet may be guided from the quagmire on to solid ground, for, as it is written, “the steps of a man are directed by the LORD, and He will delight in his way. When the just man falls he shall not be overthrown, because the LORD will stretch out His hand” [cf Psalm 37:23-24]. These thoughts, dearly-beloved, must be kept in mind not only for the Easter festival, but also for the sanctification of the whole life, and to this our present exercise ought to be directed, that what has delighted the souls of the faithful by the experience of a short observance may pass into a habit and remain unalterably, and if any fault creep in, it may be destroyed by speedy repentance. And because the cure of old-standing diseases is slow and difficult, remedies should be applied early, when the wounds are fresh, so that rising ever anew from all downfalls, we may deserve to attain to the incorruptible Resurrection of our glorified flesh in Christ Jesus our LORD, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen.

*Leo the Great, Sermon LXXI. Sermons in P. Schaff & H. Wace (Editors.), C. L. Feltoe (Translator) Leo the Great, Gregory the Great (Vol. 12a, pp. 181–184), (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1895).
**Ostensibly preached on Good Friday.

The Eyewitness Testimony That’ll Make You Never Doubt the Resurrection Again

04-14-2017 Paul Strand

Christianity's core belief is that the Son of God took on human form, died for our sins and then rose from the dead to give us eternal life. But if Jesus Christ didn't come back to life, it undoes His claim to be the all-powerful, eternal Son of God, Savior and Messiah. So, Christianity hangs on the Resurrection.

To believe the events around that first Easter, you pretty much have to believe that Jesus did indeed exist and that the New Testament can be trusted.

At the Impact 360 school in Pine Mountain, Georgia, Prof. Jonathan Morrow preps college-bound Christians in how to fight with the facts of their faith.
Jesus Isn't Just in the Bible
He told CBN News, "Investigating the Resurrection is a historical question that you can do with eyes wide open; it's not a blind faith kind of thing, like believing in the Easter Bunny or a lucky rabbit's foot. This is real world kind of stuff. And you can investigate the data for it."
Morrow added, "So when it comes to the Resurrection, we say 'Well, how do we know Jesus existed?' Some people even doubt that. The fact is, we have far more sources for Jesus of Nazareth than we do for many historical figures in the first century. We have at least 18. Twelve of those are non-Christian sources."
There's more evidence Jesus existed than Julius Caesar. Anyone doubt Caesar existed?

Press the gold button below to watch the videos for more intriguing information about this or follow this live link to the completer story: The Eyewitness Testimony That’ll Make You Never Doubt the Resurrection Again