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Posts Tagged ‘Resurrection’

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“The Risen Christ is Our Companion”

In 01 Daily Meditations on 2011/04/29 at 12:48 PM
The Master passes very close to us, again and again. He looks at us… And if you look at him, if you listen to him, if you don’t reject him, He will teach you how to give a supernatural meaning to everything you do… Then you too, wherever you may be, will sow consolation and peace and joy. (The Way of the Cross, Eighth Station, 4)

In the middle of his daily work, when he has to overcome his selfishness, when he enjoys the cheerful friendship of other people, a Christian should rediscover God. Through Christ and in the Holy Spirit, a Christian has access to the intimacy of God the Father, and he spends his life looking for the Kingdom which is not of this world, but which is initiated and prepared in this world.

We must seek Christ in the word and in the bread, in the Eucharist and in prayer. And we must treat him as a friend, as the real, living person he is — for he is risen. Christ, we read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, “holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

Christ, the risen Christ, is our companion and friend. He is a companion whom we can see only in the shadows — but the fact that he is really there fills our whole life and makes us yearn to be with him forever. “The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him who hears say, Come. And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price… He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Christ is passing by, 116)

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Resurrection of Jesus

In 06 Scripture & Theology on 2011/04/25 at 1:39 PM

    The most concise definition/explanation of the Resurrection can be found in the Glossary  of Joseph Ratzinger’s (Pope Benedict XVI) JESUS OF NAZARETH, Part Two) Ignatius Press

“The entrance by Jesus, following his death on the Cross, into an entirely new form of life that lies beyond the order of natural biological generation, resuscitation, and  dying and that includes a transformed bodily dimension of existence, possessing physical and spiritual aspect. (Mt. 22:30; 1 Cor. 15:42-44, 50-54; Luke 24:39; Jn 20:24:24-27)

“The Resurrection is the Father’s vindication of Jesus’ divine sonship and validation of the believer’s faith in Jesus’ redemption of sinful humanity.”  (Acts 2:24; Rom.1:4; 1 Cor. 15: 14, 17)

“It is also the pledge of  ‘first fruits’ of a general resurrection, the beginning of a new kind of humanity to be realized in the age to come.”  (1 Cor 15:23)

“The Resurrection of Jesus in not the mere passing of a spirit into the next life or a miraculous resuscitation to mortal existence, as with Lazarus.  It is an entirely new mode of bodily existence.”

For a spiritual and scholarly expansion, see chapter 9, Jesus’ Resurrection from the Dead.

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“He has triumphed over death”

In 01 Daily Meditations on 2011/04/25 at 1:32 PM
Easter Octave – Monday: “He has triumphed over death”.
The risen Christ, Christ in glory, has divested himself of the things of this earth, so that we men, his brothers, should ask ourselves what things we need to get rid of. (The Forge, 526)

“Christ is alive.” This is the great truth which fills our faith with meaning. Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen. He has triumphed over death; he has overcome sorrow, anguish and the power of darkness. “Do not be terrified” was how the angels greeted the women who came to the tomb. “Do not be terrified. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here.” “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Easter is a time of joy — a joy not confined to this period of the liturgical year, but to be found really and fully in the Christian’s heart. For Christ is alive. He is not someone who has gone, someone who existed for a time and then passed on, leaving us a wonderful example and a great memory.

No, Christ is alive. Jesus is the Emmanuel: God with us. His resurrection shows us that God does not abandon his own. He promised he would not: “Can a woman forget her baby that is still unweaned, pity no longer the son she bore in her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” And he has kept his promise. His delight is still to be with the sons of men.
(Christ is passing by, 102)

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ΧΡΙΣΤΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΙ (CHRIST IS RISEN)

In 06 Scripture & Theology on 2011/04/23 at 9:39 PM

ΑΛΙΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΙ (HE IS RISEN INDEED)  Greek being the cultural language of Rome until its fall, this is the greeting and response the Christians exchanged at Eastertime.  It is still the greeting used by the Greek Orthodox.  Say that to any Greek restaurant owner,  and you will bring joy to him.  



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First Easter

In 06 Scripture & Theology on 2011/04/12 at 5:56 PM

When our Lord rose from the dead, the apostles clearly realized His divinity. The risen Christ opened their minds and explained to them the Scriptures….Now they grasped the inner meaning of everything they had heard and seen Jesus do. The Holy Spirit reminded the apostles of everything Jesus said, and enabled them to understand the whole truth concerning Christ and His saving mission and the meaning of His words and miracles.  —Blessed John Henry Newman

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Another Easter!

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2011/04/11 at 6:01 PM

It’s a rare Catholic church that does not talk about the significance of Christmas on Christmas day and the significance of the Resurrection on Easter.  The reason is that both these feasts have momentous implication in the Christian religion. Easter is the paramount celebration of the Christian Church. Good Friday would have been forever in dispute if there had been no Easter.

St. Paul tells us that without the Resurrection, our faith and belief is useless because it would amount to little more than opinion. What would we have faith in? A corpse? A memory? A shaky hope? But, the Resurrection of Christ is God’s seal of approval on Christ and His Church.

No other religious founder is still alive. Some have known burial places; some do not. Some, like Ellen Gould White, founder of the Seventh Day Adventists, promised her followers that she would rise from the dead. They are still waiting. No religion even claims a founder who came back from the dead. Even Islam, the source of much religious absurdity, does not claim that Mohammed is still alive.

The Resurrection is not some myth or fable or tall story. It is a historical fact like any other authenticated fact of history. Christians should not think of the Resurrection as some pious sectarian tale, but a fact of history attested to by 500 witnesses, some of whom actually conversed with the risen Christ. Courts accept the testimony of two reliable witnesses. What of five hundred? Many of these were still living when Gospels and Epistles were written.

If Christ had not risen from the dead as He prophesied, His mission on earth would have been suspect and subject to two millennia of bickering, arguing, doubt, etc.  By rising from the grave by His own divine power, He affirmed Himself as God and Savior, making His teaching of divine origin and, therefore, not subject to change by human or group of humans.

Thus the Resurrection, by itself, affirms the truth of Christianity. All other religions, ‘ipso facto’, can be labeled ‘false’. Ah, yes, you say; what about the ‘sincere’ members of other religions. They may be sincere, but they are sincerely wrong. Sincerity does not affect truth. Truth does not arise in our minds, but in the real world.

After Christ died on the Cross, He could have brought Himself back to life and simply vanished from the tomb. Salvation would still be possible for man.Prayer would be possible.Liturgies would be possible.What would not be possible would freedom from doubt and anxiety, and centuries of skepticism. Humans want to have certitude about vitally important matters, and the Resurrection is a divine gift of certitude  about Christ and His Church. It is another example of divine love (commitment) for the benefit of us humans.

Man has conquered the heights of the heavens and the depths of the seas, but, even though some try, he cannot seem to conquer that six-foot hole. Not a single human has ever come back to life by his own power, and even those whom Christ raised from the dead in the Gospels died later and are still dead.

In this Easter-time, the world is in a mess. All of it is man-made.Nothing seems to be working. There is fear and dread of resurgent Islam. World economies are falling. There are wars, protests, insurrections all over.

Politicians have no answers or the wrong ones. Some Church leaders have rejected their God for human applause. Some feel like a man in a boat without oars heading for a waterfall.

But, God is unchanging. Easter tells us that God still cares about people and is committed to their well-being if they so desire. In a world of chaos and unbelief, the resurrected Christ calls to us and says, “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy burdened and I will refresh you.”

Easter tells us that is a real possibility. Recall the words of St. Augustine, “Our hearts were made for Thee, O, God, and they will not rest until they rest in Thee.” The risen Christ is the ONLY answer to man’s problems. That is why he referred to Himself as “THE way, THE truth, and THE life.