The Dynamism of Easter
and the Trajectory of the Christian Life

by Fr. Francis Martin

The whole trajectory of the Christian life is a successive dying to Sin, to its surrounding impact, to the deep wounds and vicious energy that lie in the depth of our being: it is the flowering of the gift of dying and living, a share in the dying and rising of Christ, that is communicated to us by the direct action of the Holy Spirit, as well as his action in baptism, the other sacraments, and the living and active Word of God.

“The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:10-11).”

The death of Christ is his entrance and ours into the realm of Life. For our part, this trajectory is worked out in and through the inextricable enmeshing of Sin and Grace within us. The power by which we live is the power of the act of love in which our Lord Jesus Christ surrendered his life to the Father amid the murderous attempt of Sin and hatred, and then rose again: “The death he died he died to Sin, once for all, the life he lives he lives to God” (Romans 6:10). This victory is imparted to you when you are baptized into his death, the act of love in which he handed over everything to the Father: “So you too count yourselves dead to Sin but living to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).

This Easter season celebrates the power of the life of Christ in the Church, this same radiant power that is purifying us. If we yield to it, it will endow us with a love for everyone, including our enemies. And with the Holy Spirit, it will penetrate our understanding of the inevitable outcome whereby the Church’s radiant presence will attract men and women to Christ (the Church is a Sacrament, the link between two worlds), so that it will be true of us as well that the death we die, physically or not, we die to Sin, and the life we live is the life of Christ, wholly moving to the Father.

Easter 2014

Easter Glory and St. John Paul the Great

by Bernadette McCambridge

The providential simultaneity of the Easter season and John Paul II’s canonization seems to bear an implicit message to the universal Church—a message proclaimed centuries ago by St. Irenaeus of Lyon:

“The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God.”

The event of our Lord’s Resurrection is not only the manifestation of His power over sin and death, but also a universal invitation to live life to the full: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). The glory of our Lord’s Resurrection is the revelation of His desire to draw all men to Himself, thereby allowing us to live ‘fully alive.’.

St. John Paul II is a glorious witness to living out the reality of Christ’s Resurrection. In embracing the Lord’s call to serve His Church, John Paul II proclaimed God’s glory through his perennial call to uphold the dignity of man, thereby showing the inseparable union of God and man, and man and God. God’s glory is found precisely in one who finds Him.

Through the intercession of St. John Paul the Great, may we come to see God and so give Him glory through our every thought, word, and action.

St. John Paul II, pray for us.

St. John Paul II and the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls

by Bernadette McCambridge

The celebrations of All Saints and All Souls provide a reminder of the reality of eternity: life in the here and now is “not worth comparing to the glory is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). The glorious company of Apostles and Saints, the Church Triumphant, bear witness to the immense glory and fulfillment of offering one’s life in full to the Lord. This is evidenced in John Paul II’s life, specifically in his unique desire to uphold the dignity of the human person in such a way as to bring to light the inseparable union of God and man, and man and God. Echoing St. Irenaeus’ quote that “The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God,” John Paul II shows that God’s glory is found precisely in one who finds Him.

May the commemoration of the Saints in heaven and all the faithful departed spur us on to finding the One in Whom life finds its meaning, fulfillment, and glory in having given our all to the Lord:

⁷"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-9).

The Call upon the Church to Witness to the Father’s Love

The teaching of this Sunday’s readings may be summed up in the word, “witness.” A witness is someone who attests to the truth of a given event. In the first reading, Isaiah (58:7-10) receives the charge to tell God’s people that they must care for those who are in need: “Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own.” The result is blessing for those who give and those who receive: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn… then light shall rise for you in the darkness.”

In the Gospel, Our Lord Jesus continues the injunction by telling us that we have been blessed: “You are the salt of the earth… the light of the world… Your light must shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

An example of this relation between good deeds and having our light shine before men in a way that glorifies the Father can be found in the witness, especially of the younger people, during the recent March for Life. If we witness to the wonder of the One we love and the beauty of his teaching, our light will shine, and people will be drawn to the Lord by his light and radiance.