From our Pastor’s Desk

Dear Family:

Jesus Christ is risen! Alleluia! Happy Easter to all! Today we should rejoice! Jesus is out of the grave. The tomb is empty. He has risen from the dead. The tomb could not contain Him, for He is not dead. He is alive forever, for He is God. He has conquered death and won the victory for us.

Victory presupposes war or battle. Jesus went into battle. And He won. He fought against violence. He did not resist when He was led to the cross. He used the weapon of non-violence and forgiveness. He won. He fought against pride and arrogance. He used the power of humility and meekness. And He won. He fought against lies and deception. He just said the truth, for He is Himself the Truth. And He won. He fought against death. He died but rose again. He won.

The Apostle Peter testified to the resurrection of Jesus saying: “They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible…after he rose from the dead” (Acts 10:39-41). Easter is a celebration of resurrection and an opportunity to reflect on the power of a new life. It is the continuing presence of Jesus in His Church that it is so special. We see this in the Acts of the Apostles. Beginning today, the first reading for every Sunday and daily Mass until our celebration of Pentecost is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles makes it clear that after Jesus rose and ascended to heaven he was still with the Church. Jesus continued to be with the Church and to guide it from heaven.

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus learned that Christ is present when the Scriptures are read and proclaimed, and when bread is broken and shared. During the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Do this in memory of me.” Christ continues to be present with us when we gather to listen to the Scriptures and break and share bread as he commanded during the Last Supper. When you want to meet Jesus now, he is present with us during every Mass as on the road to Emmaus when the Scriptures are proclaimed and explained, and bread is broken and shared. When you feel like you are on the cross with Christ, remember that since his resurrection Christ is present everywhere.

But we are now in the middle of a terrible war, too. We are fighting a great spiritual battle. The enemies of God and of the Church are for real, and they are serious. Like Jesus who was attacked not only by outside enemies but also by those closest to him, betrayed by Judas and abandoned by the other disciples, so also the Church is attacked from without as well as from within.

There is war. And the enemy seems to be winning. The worsening economic crisis, the ever-growing threats of terrorism and violence, the increasing number of unborn infants murdered, failed marriages and broken families, the rapid spread of immorality, false teachings and blatant lies, the proliferation of drug abuse cases, and the strong influence of materialism and egoism in the minds and hearts of people – all these are telling us that we may be losing the battle. These are the reasons why many of us still continue to feel the pains and sorrow of Good Friday.

But in the midst of all these, the joyful message of Easter rings clearly: Jesus is the winner! We are assured of victory. In Christ, we shall overcome. St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, proclaims the message of hope. “Or are you unaware that we, who were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection” (Rom 6:3-5).

St. Paul is not talking about winning the whole world, totally eradicating poverty and injustice, cleaning up our society from all bad elements and overcoming all problems in the world. Instead he is talking about joining Jesus in his death through our baptism, so that we may rise with him in his resurrection – “so that we, too, might live in newness of life.” He is trying to tell us it is a personal battle and personal victory.

Believing in the resurrection of the body and in the life to come is an expression of faith. Some early Christians asked questions regarding the nature of resurrection. St. Paul responded to these questions with the following words: “But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith” 1 Corinthians 15:12-14).

A wise man shared his learning experience. He said: “When I was young, I wanted to change the world. After some time, I realized I could not change the world. So, when I grew older, I tried to change the people around me. And again, I realized I have no power to change other people either. Now that I am very old, I decided to give up trying to change the world and other people; instead, I will strive to change myself.”

We cannot change the world. We have no capacity to change the hardened hearts and minds of evil people and of those who hate us. But definitely, we have the power to change ourselves. Through Jesus, our victorious Lord, we have the assurance that we can win the war in our personal lives. Then our personal victories, taken together with all the others, will mean the conversion of many hearts that will gradually usher in the dawn of justice and peace in the world.

Instead of cursing the darkness of sin and evil in the world and prolonging the grief and anguish of Good Friday, let us struggle to rise up and begin our earnest campaign to convert and conquer ourselves and become beacons of light and hope in this world. Indeed, the resurrection of Jesus always gives us the reason to hope and rejoice in our own personal victory as children of God.

We must raise up to what Jesus did for all and made His everlasting covenant count by being One Body, One Spirit, One Family!

Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Katharine Drexel, Saint Michael the Archangel, Pope Saint Pius X, St. Charbel and St. José Gregorio Hernández, pray for us.

Yours in Christ Jesus!
Fr. Omar