PRAY SV - Easter Sunday

Jesus Christ is risen, Alleluia!

Today, we celebrate the bedrock of our Catholic faith: the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who God raised on the third day after his public crucifixion by Roman authorities in the city of Jerusalem in 33AD. Saint Paul captures the significance of Jesus’ resurrection in one of his letters to the Corinthians: "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is empty, and your faith is empty too." Our belief that Jesus is the Son of God, fully human and divine, rests on our faith in his resurrection from the dead. Our belief in Jesus’ resurrection has perhaps never been as important to us as an entire faith community than right now. The destruction and wake of the coronavirus has thrust us into a real, communal experience of Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Yet, Jesus Christ longs to calm our anxiety and fear. After his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ appeared to his disciples—fearful, in despair, and hopeless—gathered together behind locked doors and said, "Peace be with you."

Jesus’ death and resurrection is understood in light of the Book of Exodus, in which Moses leads the Israelites out of Egyptian enslavement into the desert, to worship God and search for the promised land—a place to safely live, work and worship. Just as the Israelites who experienced numerous plagues and death, we too find ourselves in the desert, disoriented and thirsting for a return to normalcy. The Promised Land proves to be elusive; and exposure to the desert’s elements leads to feelings of anger, dejection, and distrust. At particularly difficult moments, God appears absent and aloof from their problems and concerns. God intervenes frequently, and nourishes the Israelites with manna and water; God is always close and guides them along the journey. The Israelites are God’s people, and God’s mercy and love endures forever. 

As I write this, it is unlikely that Catholic communities will be able to gather and celebrate Mass. A heightened responsibility to celebrate faith in Jesus Christ has shifted to your home. I believe this opportunity is perhaps the greatest gift available to us within this present moment of darkness. For Catholics, the home is a little church. On this day, our families have the opportunity to bring to God all that we have experienced and endured. We have the opportunity to offer prayers of adoration, thanksgiving, and petition to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to make our homes a place where God dwells: to place our trust in God who beckons us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ.

Individually or as a family, consider: