BECOMING EMPTY FOR THE RISEN LORD - 04/17/22 (Easter Sunday)

Acts 10:41

41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

John 20:1-2,4

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Mag'dalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."

4 They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first;

Blessed Easter! Let us rejoice because our Lord Jesus is truly risen. In His resurrection, He defeated evil and death. Because of the original sin of Adam, we became spiritually dead. But, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can be freed from sin and be raised to new life. The empty tomb is a symbolism that our Lord has truly risen from the dead, but this empty tomb also points to who we should be. When Jesus, the Light of the world, died, He entered the tomb, and in His resurrection, the tomb became empty. But, because this glorious event reverses many things, our hearts should be empty first for the light of Christ to fill us. But, how can we be empty? 

When St. Mary Magdalene went on the first day of the week, she saw that the stone had been taken away. In the same way, the obstacles that make up our stone hearts should be taken away. The light of Christ banishes all of the darkness of our sins. This is made possible through the sacrament of Eucharist and the sacrament of confession. Jesus, who died and rose again, is truly present in the Eucharist. At the same time, the sacrament of confession forgives us of all of our sins and gives us strength to avoid our sinful tendencies. 

But, one obstacle why others do not frequently receive these sacraments is our lack of faith. Even some disciples did not believe the testimony of St. Magdalene at first. But, what we should do to accept the light of Christ in the sacraments is to remove our doubts and simply be obedient to the words of Christ (John 6:54, John 20:23). Frequently receiving the Eucharist at least every week and the sacrament of confession once every two or three weeks are practical examples of rejoicing in our Lord. 

Besides receiving the sacraments, it is also important for us to be in the presence of Christ even in the ordinary moments of our lives. As St. Peter told us, Jesus ate and drank with His followers after His resurrection. This takes place when we live out our faith, specifically through our prayers and good deeds, and teach them, even to members of our own family and loved ones. Do we pray with our family? When we have time of silence in our home, do we spend it on prayers and reflection of God's word or any aspect of our faith? And, do we make an effort to speak to people who are close to us, such as the children or anyone in our family, so they may see how precious our faith is as Catholics? 

Another obstacle why others find this difficult is they think that they do not know enough of our faith to begin with. But, as we look in our gospel reading, St. Mary Magdalene did not know the full truth yet, but she was a witness of the empty tomb to the disciples. Even though St. John the Beloved and St. Peter seemed to forgot the promise of Christ's resurrection, they ran so fast to the tomb. This represents the importance of perseverance in our spiritual life and knowledge of our faith. It is only by being filled with God's love and by experiencing His presence that we can share this gift to other people. 

May we celebrate this day rejoicing and praising Jesus Christ because He opened the way to eternal life for us as He conquered the power of death. Alleluia! 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic