Dear Parishioners,
From my high school days I had a
serious interest in the afterlife, including aspects of death and dying. This fascination began by reading books for
class as a senior by Drs. Raymond A. Moody, Jr.
and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Hearing about near-death and out-of-body
experiences and the various stages of dying from a medical/clinical perspective
sparked my intellectual curiosity and heightened my desire to reconcile my
Catholic faith with the reported experiences of science. How did this all fit in with the Church's
teaching about the four last things--death, judgment, heaven and hell?
One thing of which I was pretty
certain throughout my studies was that the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead was something completely unique. The Resurrected
Body was not some out-of-body
experience or near-death occurrence
like those stories I had read. The Glorified Body was encountered by those chosen
disciples after Jesus was unmistakably dead by means of torture
and crucifixion. This Glorified Body
could now pass through matter such as locked doors (Jn. 20: 19-20) (subtlety).
Instantaneously, it could be in various places not necessarily in close proximity like Galilee and Jerusalem (agility). It was frequently unrecognizable as on
the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24: 13-32) or to Mary Magdalene in the garden (Jn. 20: 11-18) (brightness or glory). It had triumphed over all human suffering (impassibility).
As we celebrate Easter once
again, I hope that we never take for granted what occurred on that first Easter
morning. Most of Jesus' disciples had
fled and were presumably in hiding for fear that what just happened to their rabbi-leader
might also happen to them. Women went to
anoint the crucified Body and found an empty tomb. Jesus then made His presence known and everything changed! He is risen!
No matter what they did to Him, He is still alive! The experience of a Resurrected Jesus led the disciples to be fearless in their
preaching and to endure torture and martyrdom themselves.
If we get to a point in our lives
where this essential teaching of our Christian faith--the Resurrection of Jesus from
the dead--ceases to captivate, to encourage, to foster hope and to
motivate, then I suggest that we should probably just stay in bed on Easter
morn and every other Sunday morning for that matter. Why
bother at all? Life would be pretty
empty and meaningless as far as I am concerned.
However, for Christian believers
it is this triumph of Jesus over sin and death that makes all the difference in
the world. We hope to share in His
Resurrection. We hope to receive a new, glorified body ourselves. We have hope for an eternal
life. We believe that Jesus can and does
forgive our sins when we repent. We have Christian hope.
On behalf of the priests, the
deacons, and our entire parish staff, I wish you all the joy that
the disciples experienced when they saw the Risen Lord!
Happy Easter!
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
