Friends in Christ,

in the Acts of the Apostles, we read today of what it is like to be a Christian in a pagan society. Peter and John were mocked by the Sanhedrin as being unlearned and ignorant men.

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The Christian today also, is often put down in a similar way; Catholics are accused of not being ‘with the times;’ we are accused of not being ‘enlightened,’ as the world suddenly is. Freedom, for the world, is to do anything you want; but we teach freedom in Christ, by living his Law, and we are called ‘backward, old-fashion, out of date.’

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The Sanhedrin, having ridiculed Peter and John for their beliefs, moved on to the next step: threats. In our times, we have seen what happens to a pizzeria that said they would not make pizzas for a so-called gay wedding. They received death threats and an on-line hate campaign against them, simply by standing for their Faith. We’ve seen how Hobby Lobby and the Catholic Church had to go to court against our own government, in order to practice their Christian faith. Or the attempt in 2005 by the Illinois governor to force pharmacists to provide abortion-causing Plan B drugs against their conscience. Not to mention the many in the middle east who are killed for their belief in Jesus.

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But these are only the high-profile cases. One of our students has told me how her teacher at our own public high school, finds many ways to distort and ridicule the Catholic religion. It is blatant anti-Catholicism.

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But no matter what people say to us, or how much pressure they put on us, we still have the same undeniable fact that Peter and John had before the Sanhedrin: God has visited his people; Jesus has come to teach us the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and he has risen from the dead so that we can too.

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The voice of the world around us is getting stronger; it says what the Sanhedrin said: ‘And they charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.’ But before his Ascension, Christ said, ‘Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature’ So we do.

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The world wants to shut us up. They do not wish to hear the name of Jesus, they do not want to hear about the way of life that leads to heaven. Nevertheless, like the Apostles, we calmly reply: ‘We cannot help but speak, of what we have seen and heard.’

Friends in Christ, today we are given this great image of the apostles at the sea of Galilee, after the resurrection. The apostles are sad. They were told to go to Galilee and there they would see Jesus, but …. apparently not. Peter then seems to think….well, about his old life: fishing. maybe he should go back to that. ‘I’m going fishing,’ he says. And the others follow.

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They catch nothing, and then there is this figure on the beach, who gives them a fishing tip, and their nets are breaking with large fish – just like when they met the Lord! It’s Jesus! Peter is so happy, that he dives into the water and swims to Christ as fast as he can.

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On the beach, as the Lord wants to make them some breakfast – out of the fish – he says, bring here those fish you caught. Peter himself, drags that net full of 153 large fish up to the Lord.

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The number 153 has surely a deep meaning. Scholars have puzzled over what it’s significance is. The ancients believed there were 153 nations at that time; they thought also, that there were 153 species of fish. So this catch represents all the peoples, all the nations, enclosed in this net,[i] and the apostles have caught them. The leader of the apostles Peter, the first Pope, he himself, hauls that entire net and presents it to Christ.

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We see here then in this scene, the boat which is a symbol of the church, and with Jesus’ guidance, the apostles are able to catch those fish – those souls – and they are all brought to the feet of Christ.

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So here at the end of the gospel, those apostles no doubt recalled Christ’s words at the beginning, when they met him: ‘Follow me. I will make you fishers of men.’ And the Church continues today to seek out believers, and fish them out of the sea.

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[i] I believe the most compelling theory for the meaning of the number 153 is the following. Words in the scriptures (in Greek/Hebrew) also represent numbers, this is called Gematria. If you look for which words in the scripture have a Gematria of 153, you will find few. One of those few words is the name Bezalel, found in the Old Testament (Exodus 31:1). He was the builder, the master craftsman of the Tabernacle, i.e., God’s temple in the desert. So this number, 153, points to the construction of God’s temple. But the temple is Christ’s Mystical Body, made out of his people, a temple of ‘living stones,’ as St. Peter said (1 Peter 2:5). Living stones – or perhaps we would say believers – fished out of the sea.

Friends in the Lord,

in these Octave days of Easter, the many, beautiful flowers in the Church, and that lovely smell – can’t help but make us think of heaven, of Paradise.

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What will heaven be like? Well, it’s a whole new heaven and earth, that’s what the Catechism says: a totally renewed cosmos. Heaven also means the resurrection of our bodies, like Jesus.  Christ did not rise from the dead in his glorified body for his own sake – he rose for our sake – he shows us our destiny. ‘The hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they who have done good shall come forth unto resurrection of life….

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An older woman, a practicing Catholic, thought that this is a strange thing: that we would rise in our physical bodies, and walk around in Paradise. She was shocked to hear that this is a dogma of our Faith, one of THE most important beliefs. But she liked it!

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Our destiny is not to be some kind of floating, disembodied soul. Today we see, that when Jesus came to the apostles in his resurrected body – they thought they were seeing a ghost. They could not accept that Jesus was bodily alive.

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The Lord’s reaction?  Why do questions still arise in your hearts?!! What is wrong with you?! Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I. Touch me and see, because a spirit – a soul – does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.

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To prove it to them more, Christ took some baked fish and ate it in front of them.   Souls do not eat food.

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An angel is pure spirit, but we will not be angels, we are a different species: human. Human beings are body and soul. A soul is not a complete human being.

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True, our soul separates from our body at death. How long will we wait ‘till the resurrection?  What will be our experience of time? We don’t know. Perhaps the time will seem very short.

But however long the wait, we will not be disappointed.

Friends in Christ,

today we read of those two disciples walking the road to Emmaus. They encounter Jesus, whom at first they do not recognize until the ‘Breaking of the Bread.’ This phrase is used in scripture to signify the Mass: ‘The Breaking of the Bread’ – it occurs in numerous places.

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At the Last Supper Christ gave us the first Mass. Here, on the road to Emmaus, St. Luke gives us a sort of image of the Mass.

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There are two main parts of the Mass: the liturgy of the word, and the liturgy of the Eucharist. St. Luke illustrates this by the way he tells the events at Emmaus. We see that first Jesus explains the scriptures to them, showing them everything in the scriptures that refer to himself. So here we see an image of the Liturgy of the word, just as we are doing now, explaining the scriptures.

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Then the Breaking of the Bread, and all the code words for the Sacred Liturgy are here: He took, blessed, broke, and gave it to them. So, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. And notice that once they have the Eucharist, once they have the Body of the Lord before them, Jesus disappears. Christ is saying: you don’t need to see me now, I am present with you now sacramentally; and as he said: I will be with you all days, even until the end of the world.

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What is, this Holy Mass, which Our Lord has left us? Here is what the great theologian, Nicholas Gihr says:

‘On the cross, Christ obtained the price of the Redemption of the world. At Holy Mass this Eternal Sacrifice is made present in time, that this Treasure of grace may be applied to us. On the Cross the Fountain of eternal redemption was opened, and from our altars, It pours forth It’s streams to the thirsty children of God.

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Consecrating the Sacred Host and the Chalice, the priest’s words produce the Mystical Immolation – the separation of Christ’s Body and Blood. Then, having announced the death of Christ, it is time to proclaim his Resurrection. A part of the Sacred Host is placed into the chalice, reuniting the Body and Blood of the Lord, a sign of resurrection. And in Holy Communion, our bodies and souls mingle with our Beloved Savior.

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Our Lord commissioned that these Mysteries of Eternal Life be unceasingly offered, and this we do, in all the churches of the universe until the end of time.

Friends in Christ,

today in the gospel, we revisit that wondrous scene at the tomb; Mary Magdalene is there, the sinner who has been forgiven. We see that angels are there:  “And as she wept, bending down, she saw two angels in white.”

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Jesus is there, although at first he is not recognized by Mary, and interestingly, he addresses her as ‘Woman.’ ‘Woman, why do you weep?’ The sacred text also tells us that she thought Jesus was the gardener; so it was in a garden, and in fact earlier St. John tells us that the tomb was ‘in a garden.’

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Now if we think hard, we see that these facts are clues; When writing this gospel, St. John did not have to include these bits of information, but he did. He put it down this way so that if we ponder this scene, of Jesus and a ‘Woman’ in a garden, we will immediately think of the garden of Eden, where there was a Man and a Woman.

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If we recall, when Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, an angel was placed at the entrance to guard it, to block the way, we were blocked from Paradise. So we see here in the scene of the resurrection, also angels – but they are not blocking anything because the way is now open for us to Paradise.

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In 1 Corinthians St. Paul says, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. So the way that this resurrection scene is written, St. John is intentionally trying to teach us that Jesus is the New Adam, as St. Paul also says.

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Christ is the perfect Man, and he is one of us, he is our brother. He has done what Adam and no one of us could do, and that is, atone for our sins, and save us from death, and hell. The New Adam has won the victory for us, and given us the hope of immortality.

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St. Paul says, ‘Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall all indeed rise, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall rise incorruptible and we shall be changed. For this corruptible body must put on incorruption and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Friends in the Risen Lord,

today we are in the beautiful Octave of Easter, in which each day is celebrated as a ‘Little Easter.’

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On the 1^st Easter morning, when the women went to the tomb to anoint the Lord, they instead found that an angel had rolled the stone away from the tomb, and were told: ‘Do not be afraid. Jesus has risen.’

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We read today that as they were on their return, Jesus met them, and spoke to them.

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We notice three things from these events: First, the women were exhorted by the angel to BELIEVE, to have faith. The Lord’s resurrection, after such a brutal and final death – his resurrection surely felt too good to be true. The angel told them that Jesus had risen AS HE SAID he would. Christ’s promises are gold, we can trust his promises. He has resurrected, he promises us, that if follow him as his disciples, we will do the same. So we are urged to have Faith.

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The 2^nd thing we notice, is that when they meet Jesus, he urges them to SHARE this Good News. ‘Go tell my brethren,’ he said. The Gospel must be shared. God has made these promises to us of the glorious, resurrected life ahead if we follow in Jesus way; it is imperative that we share this faith with our family, friends, co-workers – everyone that God puts in our path. And we often know in our conscience, when the Lord has put someone in our path.

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There is a 3^rd thing we can notice also today. When Jesus meets the women it says that he ‘greeted them.’ Some translations say, he said ‘Hail.’ This is the Greek word Χαίρετε, which was the normal word for greeting someone. But the literal meaning of the word is ‘Rejoice!’ That is what we do this week, during this Easter Octave, rejoice. And when we think of all that Jesus has done for us, how can we not rejoice?

Beloved in Jesus Christ,

today is Good Friday. It is ‘Good,’ because it is the day that the Son of God has died for our sins.

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We have just heard the events of the Passion read from Holy Scripture. We will Venerate the Cross, and we will receive Holy Communion – the Hosts that were consecrated last night will be brought out for us, to receive today.

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But notice, today there will be no Consecration; you will not hear the priest say, ‘This is My Body, this is my Blood.’ There will be no chalice; you will not hear the Eucharistic prayer said by the priest.

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So many would say, ‘then this is not a Mass.’ But let’s note something. This priest here, is wearing a chasuble, it is required. The chasuble is ONLY worn by a priest when he is at Mass, not for a prayer service. So what gives? Are we still at the Mass from last night or something?

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At the time of Our Lord, the Passover was celebrated by sacrificing a lamb, and then the meal which included 4 cups of wine. The 1^st cup was offered, then a 2^nd, then the Cup of Blessing said over the Lamb; a hymn is sung, and finally the 4^th cup, the cup of consummation, completed the Passover.

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When Jesus offers the Passover with his disciples at the Last Supper, what happens? In the Gospels, the 1^st cup of wine seems not to be mentioned. But St. Luke reports to us the 2nd cup, and then the 3rd cup – the cup of blessing. But no lamb is mentioned. I guess that’s because the Lamb is sitting there at the table, Christ is the Lamb, who will be sacrificed for us. Then the Scriptures tell us that a hymn was sung. Ok. Everything matches up with the Passover meal.

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But then there is supposed to be the 4^th cup of wine to conclude the Passover – the cup of consummation. But it is not mentioned. The 4^th and final cup of wine is not mentioned, and so it seems that the Passover has not actually concluded. We ARE told, that the Lord went to the Garden of Olives to pray, and there he said: ‘Father, if it is possible, let this CUP pass by me.’ So our Lord mentions a ‘Cup.’

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Then later, as Jesus is carrying the cross, soldiers offered him a cup of wine mixed with gall – there is another cup of wine – but Christ did not take it. If that was the 4^th cup of the Passover, well, he was not ready to end the Passover yet.

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But let’s note today what we read in the Holy Gospel: As Our Lord hung on that cross, he said: ‘I thirst.’ He is signaling for the 4th cup. ‘Now there was a vessel filled with common wine, so they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop, and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine he said, ‘It is finished.’ In my bible, the translation reads, ‘It is consummated.’

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So here is the mystery of the missing 4^th cup. Our Lord concludes the Passover sacrifice on the cross. The Lamb is now sacrificed, the Lamb of God.

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Last night, at the end of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, there was no dismissal; there was no final blessing – because Mass continues. We are still in Mass. Because what is Mass, really? It is both, the Lord’s Supper and the Sacrifice of the Cross. And while the Passover is complete, the resurrection still must come. And so, the Mass continues to Easter.

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The Blood of the Passover Lamb protected the people from the angel of death, but that was only a Type. The Blood of Jesus protects us from Eternal Death, and obtains for us the hope of our own resurrection, in the life of the world to come. Amen.

Beloved in Christ,

tonight is Holy Thursday. Here, we remember the Last Supper in which Jesus gave us the two sacraments of the Holy Mass, and the Priesthood.

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The Last Supper was the first Mass; it was there that Christ took bread and said, ‘This is my Body.’ And he took the chalice, ‘This is my Blood.’  This is what we call the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Mass, the Divine Liturgy, the Breaking of the Bread, the Holy Sacrifice – and we continue to faithfully do this down to the present day.

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If you read about the first Christians, you will see that they were doing exactly what we do; they believed exactly as we believe.  In the year 152 for example, Justin Martyr said: ‘We call this food Eucharist; and no one is permitted to partake of it except one who believes our teaching……Made into the Eucharist by the Eucharist prayer…. it is the flesh and blood of that Incarnate Jesus.’  So Jesus gives us the Mass.

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Also on this night, he gives us the Priesthood.

‘Do this,’ he told the Apostles – his first priests. ‘Do this in memory of me,’ keep doing it. And so we do.

‘Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them.’ ‘He who hears you, hears me.’ Our Lord sent his priests to continue his work on earth, forgiving sins, baptizing, teaching, and most importantly, feeding his lambs with the Bread of Life, so that they can go to heaven.

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During the Last Supper, Christ knelt down and washed the feet of his Apostles; he did this to teach them, that they must be humble priests; we also re-live that on Holy Thursday, when those dressed as Apostles have their feet washed.

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After the Last Supper, Christ and is disciples left the Upper Room and went to pray at a Garden, the Garden of Gethsemane. There Our Lord saw all the sins and evils and horror that will ever happen, and he took it upon himself. It was so intense that he sweated blood through his skin; doctors say such a thing happens only under acute conditions of extreme stress. But even then, as Jesus prayed, his disciples fell asleep; ‘Could you not pray just one hour with me?’, he asked.

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Well, tonight at the end of Mass, our procession will follow Jesus, as we go to a garden. We will go to the Garden to pray with the Lord, to keep him company as he begins his journey to the Cross.

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These sacred days reveal the great love of Christ for us. St. Augustine says, that in order to captivate the hearts of men,[i] God has cast several darts of love into their hearts. He has given us the beautiful world, animals, forests, birds and seas – he has tried to lure us by many ways to love him.

Cardinal Hugo says, the sportsman keeps in reserve his best arrow for the last shot, in order to secure his prey; so did God keep Jesus in reserve until the fullness of time, and then he sent Him as a last arrow, to wound with love the hearts of men.

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[i] The Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy of Jesus Christ, p. 89-90