Dear Parishioners,

Happy Easter everyone! Today is the highest feast of the whole year. It is greater than St. Joseph’s day, St. Patrick’s day and even Christmas. Today our redemption is revealed in Our Lord, Jesus Christ. He has conquered death and has redeemed the world.

There are many misconceptions about the Resurrection. When we speak of this Resurrection, we do not mean that only His soul returns to us. Then Jesus would just be a ghost. We do not mean that His soul and body were taken directly into heaven. That event is called the Ascension and happens 40 days later. The Resurrection is when Our Lord’s soul was reunited with His body and He literally walks among us again. He was not a figment of the disciple’s imagination but really and actually there.

Many critics have tried to dispute this fact through the centuries. But, there is no accounting for why there would be an empty tomb or why so many people were willing to die because they claim to have seen the risen Christ. It is worth noting that the disciples did not have any physical gain because of their belief. In fact, most of them lost their lives because of what they witnessed. They encountered the risen Christ and no longer lived for this world.

This belief changes the world. The powers of this world can claim ownership over it because they can cause death and rule people. Once Jesus shows that death does not have the ultimate say, those powers crumble. That is why the Church (which is the bride of Christ), has lasted so long. Empires rise and fall. Different thinkers come and go. Many people in every generation declare that the Church is dead or is about to die. Yet, the Church continues and even buries her undertakers.

I never want to sound too triumphalistic because that may lead to a self-confidence that is never healthy. Our confidence should be in Christ and His redemption. May we unite our lives with His and know the true power of the Resurrection.

God bless,

Fr. Carter