Easter
Sunday: We believe
Homily of
Cardinal Justin Rigali
Easter Sunday Mass
Cathedral Basilica
of Saints Peter and Paul
March 23, 2008
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”
Alleluia!
Dear Friends in the Risen Christ,
During the whole period of Lent, and especially during Holy Week, the
Church has followed Jesus through all His suffering. We have reflected
on His Passion and His Death. We have stood with Mary His Mother at the
foot of the Cross. And we were with Jesus when He died. We accompanied
Him to His burial place and then we withdrew waiting for something more.
This morning, Easter Sunday, we return to the tomb. Here we join Mary
of Magdala and the other women of the Gospel. We come with Peter and John
and, like them, we find the tomb empty. We see “the burial cloths
there and the cloth that had covered his head not with the burial cloths,
but rolled up in a separate place.” We see and we believe.
And then we hear those words that the angel spoke to the women—words
that come thundering down the ages: “I know that you are seeking
Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he
said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his
disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and is going before
you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”
Like the women and the Apostles, we too believe. And Jesus speaks to us
as He spoke then, saying: “Do not be afraid.” In the midst
of the problems and challenges of the world and of our own Archdiocese
of Philadelphia, despite our weaknesses and sins, Jesus says to us: “Do
not be afraid.” And we begin to understand that Jesus is alive and
that the destiny of the world is in His hands. We listen also to Saint
Peter speaking to the Christians of his day saying: “You know what
has happened. … They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised up on the third day. … To him all the prophets
bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness
of sins through his name.”
Dear friends: this is what the Resurrection brings to you and me, to all
of us: the forgiveness of our sins. Christ’s Resurrection is a victory
over sin and death, but it is a victory, a triumph that Jesus shares with
us. Jesus takes away our sins. His victory, though, is also a challenge
for us. Jesus beckons us to turn to Him, to make the effort necessary
to embrace His forgiveness and to live in newness of life.
Saint Paul summarizes this for us when he states, as we heard proclaimed
this morning: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is
above.” In our personal lives, in our dealings with one another,
in the family, in the community, in society, we are challenged to put
into practice the meaning of our Baptism: to consider ourselves dead to
sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Last night, at the Easter Vigil, I spoke about the need for the power
of Christ’s Resurrection to touch the hearts of all. There is no
other power that can change people’s hearts and bring peace to the
world.
Today, at this Easter Mass, I wish to emphasize how each one of us must
turn to the Risen Christ, to the One who lives, the One who has conquered
death, the One who is merciful and wishes to forgive our sins. You and
I must personally accept the pardon won for us by Christ, through His
Death on the Cross.
Today, Easter Sunday, God the Father, by raising Christ from the dead,
ratifies the value of Christ’s redeeming death and confirms before
all the world His plan of mercy for humanity.
Dear friends, Christ’s love for us and the Father’s mercy
require a response of love and action on our part. This is the hour for
us to turn to God, to open our hearts to Him and to be made new by the
power of Christ’s Resurrection.
Nine years ago Pope John Paul II came to the United States and pronounced
some very special words, words that in one way or another apply to each
one of us. He said: “In the name of Jesus, the Good Shepherd I wish
to make an appeal—an appeal to Catholics throughout the United States
and wherever my voice or words may reach—especially to those who
for one reason or another are separated from the practice of their faith.
… Christ is seeking you out and inviting you back to the community
of faith. Is this not the moment for you to experience the joy of returning
to the Father’s house?”
The return to the Father’s house challenges us at various levels
and in different degrees. Christ wishes all of us to be fully His, to
share abundantly His risen life through the sacraments, through prayer,
by good works, by an authentic Christian life of service to one another.
Christ wants His mercy to envelop us and His Easter joy to fill our hearts
today and throughout our lives. The Holy Father concluded his appeal invoking
Mary the Mother of Mercy, the Mother of Jesus. This was his final prayer:
“Mary, Mother of Mercy, teach the people of … the United States
to say yes to your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Is this not the meaning of our Easter celebration: to say yes to Jesus
in newness of life, to let the power of His Resurrection challenge us
to live always according to His Gospel?
Dear friends: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice
and be glad.”
For Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia!