Sunday, April 19, 2026

 Third Sunday of Easter

(Acts 2:14, 22–33; 1 Peter 1:17–21; Luke 24:13–35)

Each year on this Third Sunday of Easter, we hear the account of an appearance of the risen Jesus. Today we are told of his encounter with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the nature of the resurrection, both of Jesus and of our own at the end of time. The resurrection is one of the central truths of the Christian faith. However, it is not as easy to understand as is often assumed.

To arrive at a proper understanding, we must clarify some misconceptions about the resurrection. Many people today regard the resurrection as a myth meant to say that Jesus lives on in the hearts of his disciples. Myths are stories without a historical foundation and whose purpose is to express a human truth. The “Tower of Babel,” for example, is a myth that attempts to explain the many languages of the world. This is not the case with the account of Jesus’ resurrection. Its historical foundations are well established: Jesus was crucified by order of Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, when Caiaphas was the high priest. His resurrection took place on the third day after this event.

According to another mistaken idea, the risen Jesus was a ghost which some people saw briefly. This misconception makes Jesus similar to the prophet Samuel, whom Saul summoned from the dead to gain information about his enemies. But his disciples experienced the risen Jesus as a living person with whom they could share a meal.

A third false idea of the resurrection makes Jesus like Lazarus, whom Jesus resuscitated. But this concept also clashes with what the gospels tell us. Lazarus came back to life with a body like our own.  The body of the risen Jesus, on the other hand, has been transformed.  Jesus can pass through closed doors and appear and disappear suddenly.

There are several common features in these appearances that help us understand their nature. First, the risen Jesus is seen but not readily identified. The disciples on the road to Emmaus do not recognize him at first. When he appears to Paul on the road to Damascus, he is perceived as a bright light. As we said, his body has been transformed and is no longer subject to previous limitations.

Another characteristic of the risen Christ is that he communicates with those to whom he appears. His message can be challenging, as when he reproaches his disciples for not believing the women, according to the longer ending of Mark’s Gospel. But more often, he greets them with the word “peace.” This word in Hebrew is shalom and means much more than “hello” or “good morning”.  Shalom expresses the fullness of well-being. Then Jesus sends his apostles out to proclaim the Good News everywhere.

Finally, Jesus shares meals with those to whom he appears. In today’s Gospel, the disciples recognize him in the breaking of the bread, a gesture that recalls the Eucharist. He is continuing his previous practice of table fellowship as a way of expressing the intimacy of his love.

From all this, we can say that the resurrection represents a new level or mode of human existence.  It is a qualitative leap, similar to, in a sense, the one that occurred when primates evolved into human beings. The Risen One has a transformed body, and his love is no longer limited as it once was. During his earthly life, Jesus was could not reach everyone. Now, in his risen state, he not only reaches all but is able to embrace every man, woman, and child within himself. In this way, a new communion with God and with one another is established.

Our love is limited in more fundamental ways than that of Jesus. We cannot love without some degree of self-interest. This is not wrong until we seek our own satisfaction to the detriment of the other’s welfare. However, in the resurrection, our bodies will be transformed in such a way that the love for which they were created to show will no longer be merely one of sensual desire, or even only of friendship. Rather, our love for others will manifest the complete selflessness that characterizes Jesus’ love for his disciples. We will be able to love all people in a way unlike anything we have ever known.  We will be able to love others like God loves us.

Tuesday, November 25, 2025

 Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

 (Daniel 2:31-43; Luke 21:5-11)

 Today’s gospel is a shorter version of the one read a week ago Sunday.  One preacher offered an extraordinary interpretation which is worth summarizing.  The preacher named the “awesome sights and mighty signs” as the resurrection of Christ.  It has relativized everything.  Everything, that is, except its own authority to stand on earth as the supreme witness to God in heaven.

 The first thing relativized are humans constructs like the Temple and votive offerings.  People marvel at buildings and art pieces, contemporary examples of which are the Taj Mahal and the Mona Lisa.  As amazing as human artifacts may be, even the best will crumble one day.  Nor will nature forever support life as it now does.  Rather it will turn into upheaval as Jesus predicts when he speaks of “earthquakes, famines, and plagues.”  Not human constructs, not nature but the resurrection of the dead, which Christ’s resurrection promises, gives ultimate meaning to human lives.  It can be said that the resurrection is the “stone hewn from a mountain” crushing all creation of which Daniel prophesizes in today’s first reading.

 Some say that emphasizing resurrection to eternal life is too “pie in the sky” to be proclaimed regularly.  But this advice would betray the preaching of the apostles and the lives of the saints.  As Christians it is Christ for whom we live and for whom we are to die.  If he were just an ancient sage with an interesting ethic, he is hardly worth staking our life on.  But as the eternal Lord evidenced by his rising from the dead, he deserves our utmost devotion.

 

 

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

 Feast of Saint Thomas, apostle

 (Ephesians 2:19-22; John 20:24-29)

The New Testament leaves no doubt that its preeminent miracle is the resurrection of Jesus.  It does not presume that all accepted that event from the beginning.  Rather, as today’s gospel shows, it shows that even members of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples questioned its authenticity.

St. Thomas demanded physical proof that Jesus had risen.  Whether he ever put his finger in Jesus’ nail marks is an open question.  He may have settled, like his confreres, for seeing the resurrected Christ.  In any case, he likely died a martyr, the ultimate testimony of the resurrection.

The first reading, from the Letter to the Ephesians, underscores the solidarity of Christian faith in the resurrection.  Written toward the end of the fist century A.D., it exalts the apostles who, preaching resurrection, gave the Church its foundation.  It also includes people, believers like you and I.  We not only praise Christ but also extend to the world by the integrity of our lives hope of resurrection.

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr

(II Timothy 1:1-03.6-12; Mark 12: 18-27)

In today’s gospel the Sadducees present Jesus the absurd case of seven brothers marrying the same woman in succession after each brother dies.  According to the Old Testament Law a brother had to honor his deceased older brother in this way.  The absurdity tests the resurrection’s conformity to the Law. 

Jesus first shows that the resurrection does not run counter to the Law by pointing out that in the resurrected state people do not have bodies that come together in marriage.  Then he shows how the Law upholds belief in the resurrection.  If God “is”, and not “was,” the God of Abraham, then Abraham must have life.

The passage challenges some of our common beliefs about the resurrection.  We think of it as a continuation of the life we have now, but it isn’t that.  The resurrection refers not to what happens to us when we die, but to the reconstituting of our bodies at the end of time.  At our death the immortal soul separates from the flesh.  What either state (the soul at death or the resurrected body at the end of time) will be like is impossible to say.  But we know that until the resurrection our spiritual life will be wanting, perhaps like dancing without music.  After the resurrection we can say that we will be utterly and eternally happy.

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Feast of Saints Philip and James

(I Corinthians 15:1-8; John 14:6-14)

The readings today were apparently chosen because they recall the names of the apostles whom we celebrate.  The first reading mentions James as one of the early witnesses of the resurrected Christ.  Some commentators think that James is the so-called “brother of the Lord” mentioned throughout the New Testament.  If this is the James that St. Paul has in mind, he was probably not a disciple during Jesus’ ministry and therefore probably not one of the twelve apostles.  The gospels report another apostle named James besides the son of Zebedee.  He was the son of Alphaeus and is often referred to as “James the Less” because he was younger or shorter than the son of Zebedee.

Philip the apostle also may be confused with another by the same name.  In the Acts of the Apostles one of the seven men upon whom the apostles laid their hands was named “Philip.” (The seven are commonly called “deacons” because their original mission was to care for the Greek-speaking widows in the primitive church community.)  Philip the apostle was a disciple of John the Baptist who directed him to Jesus.

All this sorting of names is more than just interesting.  It demonstrates that our faith in the resurrection of Jesus is based on the testimony of real men, not legends, of whom the Scriptures give account.  The fact that most of those who gave testimony to the resurrection suffered martyrdom also inspires confidence in the resurrection.  Many may think it preposterous to believe that any human life has a vital existence beyond death.  For us, however, it is a necessary conclusion.

Monday, April 10, 2023

Monday in the Octave of Easter

(Acts 2:14.22-23; Matthew 28:8-15)

Today’s gospel juxtaposes two accounts of what happened after Jesus’ crucifixion.  The first is given by Jesus himself who is obviously risen from the dead.  He asks that the good news of the resurrection be conveyed to his disciples, whom he now calls “brothers.”

The second account involves an accusation against Jesus’ disciples.  The chief priests say that the disciples stole Jesus’ body and, presumably, announced falsely the resurrection. 

Certainly, the evangelist Matthew leaves no doubt which account is true.  Nevertheless, readers must choose between the two as the second account has been handed down through the centuries as well as the first.  It can be said that the second account is more credible because the resurrection from the dead into eternal life is a unique event in history.  But we hold to the first for several reasons.  First, the disciples had little to gain by proclaiming the resurrection.  Indeed, they were to suffer martyrdom for telling the story.  This fact gives us added confidence that the Jesus’ account is true.  Finally, the first account confirms what we know of Jesus.  He preached not only the resurrection of the dead but also the goodness that life offers and the necessity of telling the truth.

Sunday, April; 9, 2023

 Easter Sunday: the Resurrection of the Lord (Mass of the Day)

(Acts 10:34a.37-43; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10)

Today we celebrate the culmination of our faith, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. To better understand what it means we have to first investigate the gospel. We will focus on see the account of the resurrection in the Gospel of Saint Matthew that was proclaimed last night at the Vigil. The Church allows it to be used again on Easter morning.

The account of the first event of the resurrection in Matthew does not differ much from that in the other gospels. The angel of God proclaims to the women that Jesus has risen and sends them to tell his disciples the good news. The empty tomb is offered as evidence of the resurrection.

Matthew's account is distinguished by two further happenings. First, Matthew reports an earthquake taking place as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrive at the tomb. Second, Jesus appears to the two Marys basically repeating the angel's command but calling his disciples "my brothers."

We should hear the angel's command to the women as applying to all of us. The women are not apostles formed by Jesus to preach the gospel, but simple people with great affection for the Lord. We too love Jesus and are commissioned to tell others of his resurrection. In addition to words, we can tell our associates that Jesus has been raised from the dead with actions. Wearing a corsage or new clothes on Easter Sunday has always symbolized that we have a new kind of life together with Jesus. Simply inviting the whole family to lunch together can also serve as an announcement of the resurrection.

We remember that the earth also trembled immediately after the death of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. Now it trembles again like a roll of drums to announce his resurrection. The tremor does not produce the resurrection of Jesus but the removal of the stone revealing the empty tomb. Both tremors signify two moments of profound truth in our lives.

The first moment happens when we realize that we are going to die. We are not talking now about the prosaic fact that all humans will die, but a near death experience. It could be a cancer diagnosis or an accident that claimed the life of our companion. From this moment on we are going to live differently. We are likely going to take much better care of our health. Some take advantage of this moment to dedicate themselves to a cause for which they want to be remembered. It may be the family, a hobby, or an avocation like working for the sanctity of life.

The second significant moment happens as in the gospel when we appreciate within our being that we are destined for eternal life. From the beginning the Church has declared the resurrection from the dead as the destiny of Christians. But as in the case of death for a long time it seems more like an idea than a reality. Then comes a profound encounter with Jesus as the two Marys have in our gospel. We perceive Jesus as close to us as a brother. In fact, by reason of his resurrection we are his brothers and sisters as Jesus himself declares of his disciples.

Our word Passover is derived from the Hebrew word pesach. It means to jump over. For the Jews it refers to the passing of the angel of death over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. The passing of the angel allowed their liberation from slavery. For us Easter is something similar but at the same time different. It refers to the passing of Jesus Christ from death to resurrected life. Also, it has to do with our passing from the certainty of our death to the security of eternal life.  This life is ours because Jesus has chosen us as his disciples whom he has transformed into his brothers and sisters. It is the cause of our celebration today. Jesus has given us eternal life as his brothers and sisters.

Monday, August 30, 2021

 

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 4:16-30)

A few years ago the secretary of the chaplain’s office was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  She was told that her disease was terminal.  A week or so later, she received another report saying that there may have been a mistake.  The news was ambivalent because, she said, she had become excited over the possibility of reuniting with her dead husband.  It turned out that the original diagnosis was confirmed.  A few grueling months later, the woman’s desire to be with her husband in death was satisfied.  In today’s first reading St. Paul gives reason for Christians to look forward to such a reunion.

Paul assures the Thessalonians that resurrection from the dead is no conjecture.  He says that he proclaims it “on the word of the Lord.”  He does, however, state that resurrection from the dead happens for those who believe Christ rose and, presumably, honor his Lordship.

Christians have also held since the first century that believers do not have to wait for the end of time.  They will have spiritual life at death.  This is far from full or complete life, but it is not without satisfaction.  What could this spiritual life be like?  Perhaps like music without words or dancing without music.    Perhaps it will be the excitement of a blind person watching television or a deaf person attending an opera.  We must remember that participants in this state are with God who makes all things good.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 18:1-8; John 16:16-20)

Of all the innovations of the past fifty years none seems as incredible as walking on the moon.  It was the first contact ever of a human being with a celestial object.  Interestingly, after the Apollo program ended, humans have never landed again on a celestial body.  When Jesus refers to his resurrection in today’s gospel, he speaks of a more extraordinary occurrence.

Jesus keeps saying, “…in a little while.” In fact, the phrase is used seven times in the passage.  It refers to both his death and resurrection.  “In a little while,” he will be crucified.  Then in another “little while” he will rise from the dead.  His disciples cannot appreciate what he means because the concept of individual resurrection is utterly novel.  The Pharisees teach of a general resurrection.  But that one person would rise independently from the dead is as foreign an idea as a moonwalk was in the nineteenth century.

We too may have difficulty believing in the resurrection.  It is helpful to remember that Jesus’ was attested to by someone diametrically opposed to him.  St. Paul persecuted Christians until Christ encountered him on the road to Damascus.  The promise that Jesus’ resurrection gives of our own is essential.  It fixes our eyes on eternal happiness when they are readily sidetracked by banal interests.  Forty days after we first proclaimed Jesus’ rising this year, it is worth the effort to do so again.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 17:15.22-18.1; John 16:12-15)

A former seminarian no longer goes to church.  His wife gives his reason as no longer believing in the resurrection.  The man may be seeking an excuse to sleep late on Sunday, but he knows the critical issue of faith.  This is evidenced by reading Paul’s exhortations in the Acts of the Apostles.  In his sermon to Jews in Pisidia Paul preaches that Jesus’ resurrection fulfills the Scriptures (Acts 13:30-32).  In today’s reading he tells the Greeks that God raised Jesus from the dead as testimony of his coming to judge the world.  In both cases Paul did not accomplish very much.  In his First Letter to the Corinthians he indicates that he had to change his message.  He writes, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified…” (I Cor 1:22-23a).

Paul never got very far in preaching to Jews, but Greeks came to embrace his message.  They did so because the world longs to hear of one who would sacrifice his life out of love for another.  Despite evidence of narcissism most people suspect that they are not really worth much.  They look for testimony that someone loves them.  This is the message of the cross.  As Paul writes elsewhere, “…God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).

We need not worry how the resurrection can take place.  Everyday science reveals occurrences which never before were imagined, much less explained.  But we must act on our belief in the resurrection.  We should make some sacrifice of what we treasure for the good of others. 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Memorial of Saints Cornelius, pope, and Cyprian, bishop and martyr

(I Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 7:36-50)

Albert Camus, the twentieth century French existentialist, wrote in The Myth of Sisyphus that suicide is the most important philosophical question. First and foremost, he opined, one should decide whether life is worth living before bothering to think about any other thing. In a similar vein, it might be said that the most important religious question for us Christians is whether Jesus rose from the dead. We might suspend every other article of faith until we address that issue.

In the first reading today Paul faces the question head-on. He tells us not just that Christian witnesses have testified to Jesus’ resurrection since it presumably happened, but also that he personally, and quite unlikely, saw the risen Christ. He admits that the vision was a special grace and that it completely turned around his life.

Reading the letters of St. Paul, we feel like he is a contemporary. There is no stiltedness to his words or lack of sensibility in what he says. Rather, he writes as honestly and passionately as Rachel Carson in The Silent Spring or John Steinbeck in Travels with Charlie. The witness of these letters, confirmed by Paul’s enduring multiple hardships to proclaim it to others, reassures us that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is no fiction. He rose to give us, like he gave Paul, the grace to conquer sin in our lives and to survive the death that is to come.

Homilette for Monday, August 31, 2009

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 4:16-30)

Is it reassuring to learn that moderns have not been the first to question the resurrection of the dead? Obviously the Christians of Thessalonica considered the question a grave concern as the first reading today indicates. St. Paul does not flinch in addressing the issue but describes with dramatic flair how the dead will be raised.

Paul relies on the trustworthiness of the Lord for his insight. He writes “on the word of the Lord” that the dead will be awakened and led into glory prior to anyone who is still alive. At this point Paul believes that the revival would take place so soon that he along with most of his readers will be among the living who follow the dead into the clouds. These clouds will then serve as gondolas at a ski resort carrying passengers into the heavens.

We may compare Paul’s trust to that of baseball fans whose team is having a particularly very good year. Even when the team falls behind in the early innings, the fans do not worry. They know that their heroes have both resources and resolve to come back and win the game. So too do Paul’s words today allow us to trust that when we die, we will not recede into oblivion. Rather we know that Christ will come to usher into glory all who have put their faith in him.

Homilette for Friday, April 17, 2008

Friday in the Octave of Easter

(Acts 4:1-12; John 21:1-14)

Resurrection means, of course, that Christ is no longer dead but alive. His body may have ascended to heaven, but his Spirit remains with us. We should not think of this Spirit as merely a common sentiment like people share when reminiscing about the “the good old days.” Rather his Spirit is a dynamic force that transforms us interiorly so that we might fulfill his mission. Today’s gospel describes the working of Jesus’ Spirit with rich symbols.

Have the disciple’s really returned to their old fishing profession? It would be extraordinary after receiving the commission of the Lord in his previous appearances to them. But perhaps fishing is the metaphor for their preaching. They have become “fishers of men.” It is laborious work which may yield nothing unless blessed by the Lord. Under his tutelage, however, its results are bountiful. The crew actually meets Jesus in the meal to which he invites them. There they hear his words which guide them and consume his food which nourishes them.

The gospel passage suggests Jesus’ presence to us as well as to his immediate disciples. He engages us in our daily occupations. There we too can produce marvelous results on behalf of our families, communities, and society. Attentive to the words he speaks in the gospel and fortified by his body and blood received in the Eucharist, we are prepared to bring his mission of redemption to completion.

Homilette for Thursday, July 3, 2008

Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle

(John 20:24-29)

Like Thomas sometimes we wonder about the resurrection of Jesus. We may think that life would be neater if death were the end. We could congratulate those who accomplished their goals in life – be they earning a million dollars, helping the poor, or raising a family -- and would not have to consider whether they accepted Christ in love to merit eternal life.

But all that is wishful thinking. The gospel today asserts that Jesus rose from the dead. He appears to a man who did not give credibility to the word of witnesses but insisted on touching the wounds of the crucified if he was alive. The doubter then turns into the person expressing the deepest faith in all the gospels. Thomas’ final words “my Lord and my God” express not only Jesus’ divine sonship but his equality with the one God.

Of course, we can deny the truth of Jesus’ appearance to Thomas. We can say that this is just a pious story fabricated to get simple people to believe. But such a stance denies our experience. People of faith seem to live fuller, happier lives facing hardship with less turmoil and recovering from setback more easily. Likewise, when we call on the resurrected Jesus -- “my Lord and my God,” we experience the providence of his guiding hand.

Homilette for March 24, 2008

Monday in the Octave of Easter

(Acts 2:14.22-33 and Matthew 28:8-15)

The idea of resurrection from the dead staggers the mind so much that suggesting it invites skepticism. In the readings today we see bases of two attempts to discredit Jesus’ resurrection. The gospel mentions a refutation from apostolic times. Apparently some Jews claimed that Jesus did not rise from the dead but that his disciples stole his body. The evangelist’s picturing corrupt Jewish leaders as bribing the Roman soldiers corresponds to their seeking false witnesses at Jesus’ trial.

More pertinent today is a doubt about the resurrection that the Acts of the Apostles suggests. In the first reading Peter tries to show his Jewish listeners that Jesus’ resurrection is foretold in Scripture. Propelled by this account, modern skeptics have conjectured that the passion, death and resurrection narratives were invented by early Christians with the Old Testament in hand. According to these theorists, the apostles gleaned tidbits from the Jewish Scriptures, injected them into the story of Jesus’ ordeal, and then claimed that the crucified Jesus also rose from the dead. This scenario may be possible, but it is hardly likely. We might ask why the apostles did not choose more relevant information than casting lots for Jesus’ garments or offering Jesus wine mixed with gall. Catholic scholar Fr. Raymond Brown has written it is far more likely that early Christians, after witnessing Jesus death and resurrection, told of it with reference to its elements that correspond to Scripture.

Skeptics can and will always raise doubts about Jesus’ resurrection. It remains a singular event in history (unless we count the Assumption of Mary for which there appears to be far less testimony). We accept it in faith for at least three reasons. First, the apostles, who died for preaching the resurrection, make a credible witness. Second, the resurrection satisfies the longing of the human heart, which God has created, for immortality. And third, we have experienced the effects of the resurrection in the Spirit’s filling our hearts with God’s love.

Homilette for Monday, April 9

Monday, I Easter

Acts 2, Matthew 28)

The gospel mentions a refutation of the resurrection that evidently was circulated in apostolic times. Apparently some Jews claimed that Jesus did not rise from the dead but that his tomb was found empty because his disciples stole his body. We might find the explanation given of why Romans soldiers would admit to negligence-on-duty – that they were paid off and that the Jewish leaders would handle any fallout with the procurator -- as hardly plausible. However, this line of reasoning probably goes beyond what Matthew intended by telling the story.

More topical today is a question about the resurrection that the first reading suggests. Peter tries to show his Jewish listeners that Jesus’ resurrection was foretold in Scripture. Some modern skeptics have opined that the passion, death and resurrection narratives were invented by early Christians with the Old Testament in hand. According to these theorists, the apostles gleaned tidbits from the Jewish Scriptures and inserted them into the story of Jesus’ ordeal. That may be possible, but it is hardly likely. Catholic scholar Fr. Raymond Brown has written it is far more probable that the early Christians noted facts surrounding Jesus death and resurrection that corresponded with Scripture. This is why we have the emphasis on casting lots for the garment, the wine being offered to Jesus, and other details.

Skeptics can and will always raise doubts about Jesus’ resurrection. It remains a singular event in history (unless we count the Assumption of Mary for which there appears to be far less testimony). We accept it in faith because of the credibility we give to the apostolic witness, because it satisfies the longing of the human heart which God has created, and also because we have experiences the effects of his resurrection such as God’s love filling our hearts.