Happy Easter everyone! Last Sunday, was a day of great joy and peace because Jesus who was despised, insulted, scourged, condemned and put to death on the Cross, has risen from the dead through the power of His divinity. For thousands of years people longed and prayed for the coming of the Messiah. His death was not the end but the door to the next life and the coming of His Kingdom upon the earth. An ancient tradition teaches that Jesus would have appeared firstly to His Mother, who as Co-Redemptrix suffered interiorly the martyrdom of Jesus. He would have closed every wound in Her soul caused by the Passion and then He appeared to St Mary Magdelene and then in the evening to the eleven Apostles, instituting the Sacrament of Confession.
The purpose of our life has only one ultimate goal; to prepare for the next life.
As a result of the Resurrection of Jesus, we also will one day rise from the dead. If you are not preparing for your own resurrection, you are like a train which has come off the rails, it goes nowhere.
In Ireland and parts of Europe in earlier times, people would get up very early on Easter Sunday morning and go to a hill, in order to watch the sun dance. I remember doing this with my brother when we were small boys. We had a bedroom window facing East and one Easter Sunday morning we eagerly waited for the sun to rise. I remember seeing the sun dance across the hills. Although in reality the sun wouldn’t have moved from its place, God can provide these signs, in order to strengthen our faith. It was wonderful to see at the time.
Jesus is the light of the world. There is fascinating book has recently been released titled: The Shroud of Turin by Jean-Christian Petitfils. It has been labelled as a definitive investigation of the precious linen cloth. Jean-Christian studied the Holy Shroud for more than forty years. It is now understood that the image on the linen shroud was not made by paint or pigment, as it is only on the surface of the cloth fibre and doesn’t penetrate into the cloth. It is believed that it was formed by something like radiation, at the moment of Jesus’ Resurrection. The Light of Christ has left us this image. This definitive investigation proves that the Shroud is from the first century and it has traces of pollen from the Holy Land. It is clear from the Shroud that Jesus was flogged violently in the Roman way, not the Jewish way. A flagrum was used which had two balls and a barbell between. This pattern can be seen under a microscope. It is also clear that He was indeed crowned with thorns and that He was speared in the right side. The type of Roman spear used has been identified from the Shroud and the blood type on the Shroud is AB, which is common to the Middle East. The Sudarium is the cloth that covered the Head of the dead Jesus. It contains the same blood type AB and shows deep puncture wounds to the Head, made by the crown of thorns. It also dates back to the first century and contains traces of pollen from that part of the world. There are seventy points of correlation with the Shroud on the front of the Sudarium and fifty on the back of the Sudarium. Both cloths show death by crucifixion.
Christ’s Resurrection makes Christianity the only truly supernatural religion because with the Resurrection, the revelation of our supernatural vocation is made complete. Every Sunday of the year is a solemnity dedicated to the cornerstone of our faith, the resurrection. This is the great proof of everything Jesus taught and all the sacraments He instituted and the guarantee that we also will rise from the dead. This is why the Church made Sunday Mass obligatory. So, coming to Mass is essential and the way we live Sundays must be different from non-believers. Three suggestions that help us live our faith more fully can be termed our GPS.
Gratitude. Let’s not take the wonderful Catholic Faith for granted. God has given us so much and so many graces. Let’s thank God each day.
Prayer. Our prayer life is just as necessary to our soul, as breathing is to the body. Prayers such as the Holy Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Eucharistic Adoration etc should be a top priority.
Sharing. Be always ready to share God’s Love with others and allow Jesus to act through you. In this way we can help draw people to the Lord.