“Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene After the Resurrection” by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov. (CNS photo/Wikimedia Commons)
2022 EASTER MESSAGE
If Jesus is risen from the dead — which is what we celebrate at Easter — where is he now? Was his resurrection only an event to inspire his own Apostles and other disciples who knew him two thousand years ago, so that they could tell the wondrous story to inspire us who would live in a much later age and would not have the privilege of seeing the risen Jesus, as they did? Jesus ascended into heaven, and in some ways may seem as distant as God was before the Son of God took human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and became one of us. Yes, memories are important, of course, so we tell the stories of what Jesus did so long ago.
The joyful truth, however, is that Jesus is as physically close to us now as he was when he was with Peter and the Apostles, with Mary his mother and Mary Magdalene, and so many others. But where is he now? Above all, he is physically present in the Eucharist, “the breaking of bread,” the Mass. There he is present when he gathers the members of his risen Body who were in-corpo-rated into him at our Baptism, who were sealed with his Spirit in Confirmation. There he who is the Word of God speaks to us when the Word of God is proclaimed. There he is sacramentally present in the priest who, in memory of him, offers his living sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice he himself offered once for all by offering himself on the cross, and who presides not only over the sacred assembly at the Eucharist but in all it does to shine Christ’s light on all. Jesus is most of all present in the great sacrament of the Eucharist, where his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity are truly present. And he does not simply stay on the altar for us to adore, but he lowers himself to enter us, to come into intimate communion with us, so that from there we can take his presence within us wherever we go.
It is estimated that, even before the pandemic, 75% of those who still identify themselves as Catholics do not attend Mass every Sunday. It is understandable, IF we only think of the Mass as a series of rituals, readings, reflections and songs. But if we truly believe that Jesus is the Living Bread come down from heaven, our lives will be as radically changed as were the lives of the early disciples who saw the risen Jesus with their own eyes. Jesus LONGS for you! He laid down his life for you and conquered death for you! Could anything be more important than coming into his risen presence in the Eucharist, so that he can embrace us, one and all? Easter, therefore, is not a feast to recall a past event — as amazing as it was. It is a celebration that Jesus IS risen, IS alive, IS with us, and wants to embrace us with his love, so that through us he can embrace the world with his healing and merciful love.
Every Sunday is a little Easter because the risen Jesus is physically present with us in the Eucharist. Come, let him embrace you and take you into the holy communion of his living Body!
Easter blessings to all!
