Good morning.
Before I start the homily, I invite us to take a moment of silence to pray for the repose of the soul of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who passed away earlier this morning. . . Eternal rest grant unto Pope Francis, O Lord. Let the perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Jesus is risen!! Alleluia!! Alleluia!! He is risen, indeed!!
At the Easter Vigil on Saturday, I witnessed 25 people receive the Sacraments of Initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist - and come into full communion with the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Every Easter, I am reminded of when I came home to Rome at the Easter Vigil back in 2008.
In today’s Gospel, we hear that “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed” after the angel of the Lord said to them: “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.” However, they did not let their fear stop them from running to “announce the news to [Jesus’] disciples.”
Fear yet overjoyed. . . I remember that was how I felt as a neophyte (or someone who was new to the Catholic faith). While I was overjoyed to be a Catholic, I was also fearful of what it meant to die to my old self in the waters of Baptism and rise to a new life in Christ.
However, in the same way that Jesus met Mary Magdalene and the other Mary where they were at, Jesus met me where I was at and said to me, “Do not be afraid.” In that moment, I had a choice to make: do I return to my old ways of life or do I respond with “Jesus, I trust in you”?
To experience Jesus’ glorious Resurrection throughout the Easter season and beyond is to be transformed by his saving power on the Cross that frees us from sin and temptation. In Jesus’ Resurrection, we find the strength and courage to renounce sin and Satan’s empty show and profess our faith and hope in the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who loves us.
Our Risen Lord meets us where we are at in our life and says to us: “Do not be afraid.” Let us respond to him with joy, saying: “Jesus, I trust in you,” and then go forth and proclaim the Good News, like Peter did in today’s first reading:
“[Hear] these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. . . God raised. . . Jesus.”
One of the most enduring images of Pope Francis for me is of the Holy Father alone in St. Peter’s Square, early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, praying and blessing the world. His Pontificate spanned my application to the Diaconate, then 5 years of Diaconal Formation, and my first 6 years as a deacon. Pope Francis was a model for all of us to live lives of mercy toward others, to bring healing with our words and presence, and how to live out the corporal and spiritual works of mercy - all these things, Jesus Christ calls us to do and, in his glorious resurrection, gives us the courage to so do, to proclaim the Good News in words and deeds.
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