Dear Parishioners,

As Catholics, we believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We celebrate this doctrine whenever we recite the Creed and whenever we celebrate Mass. It really is the cornerstone of everything else we believe because it confirms everything that Christ told His followers. For, as St. Paul tells us, “And if Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:14)

What do we mean when we say “Resurrection?” We are talking about a body literally returning from the dead. What was once dead is now alive. Recently I have heard someone explain Easter as, “The day Jesus went to heaven.” But, this person was mistakenly thinking of the Ascension. Jesus Himself walked among His followers for 40 days after His death. They could see Him, talk to Him, and touch Him. There was no mistaking that it was Him. They all knew that He died and now here He was before them. Some people find this incredibly unbelievable since it is supposedly impossible for anyone to return from the dead. They posit that this must be a case of delusion or that the disciples must have been lying or telling a story. However, these alternative histories completely avoid the evidence for the resurrection.

We should not dismiss the eye-witness accounts so easily. The disciples were not expecting to see the risen Christ and many others saw Him as well in many different circumstances. While Jesus’s enemies were guarding the tomb from people who would steal the body, the disciples ran away. Even after they saw the empty tomb (because St. Mary Magdalene told them about her encounter with Our Lord), they still hid in the upper room. They only changed their minds when Christ came to them and showed them that He is alive. As St. Paul tells us, over 500 people saw Him. (1 Corinthians 15:6) I can understand dismissing a few isolated eye-witness accounts as some sort of hysteria, but not hundreds of them, seen under all sorts of circumstances by people who were not expecting it.

So, were they lying instead? We should take into account the change of their character after seeing the risen Christ. From that point forward they were no longer scared to die. They witnessed this resurrection to the end of the world even to the point of their own death. The resurrection gave them strength to overcome their own sins and trust their lives to Christ. Were they perfect? No. Did they still sometimes mess up? Most certainly. But, even taking this into account, it makes it all the more amazing that they brought Christianity to the whole world. They gave their lives for the truth of the resurrection and it is unreasonable to think they would give their lives for a lie. The resurrection inspired them and continues to inspire people even to today.

As unbelievable as this may all sound, I can only reply as G. K. Chesterton did, “The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.” It is not our part to limit God or to say that God would never do something. Our part is to accept the great gifts that God wishes to give to us. When we entrust our lives to Him, He can do great things.

God bless,

Fr. Carter