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April 6, 2007

Easter

By Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo

In the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 12, Jesus speaks a kind of parable, an image about His own life and death, a death that brings life. “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.” Christ was speaking of Himself here and of us. The extraordinary mystery of an ordinary grain of wheat which, when “buried” in the earth, produces such an abundance of fruit is the mystery of a sign. The sign refers to the gift of salvation. Human beings are created in God’s image and likeness; they are good. But there is a wounded character to each human person. The wound is healed through the generous sacrifice of Jesus Christ; He is our “grain of wheat.” Through His voluntary suffering and death, He brings to life, and to a fruitful abundance of life, all humankind. The image of the grain of wheat is transformed by Christ to speak of the overcoming of death, not just biological death but that deeper more hideous death, sin. From the beginning, human death has always meant more than the cessation of sheer biological life; we were created to last forever. Christ came to confront the deeper issue of death, the meaning of sin and the freedom that comes from the release from the grasp of sinfulness. All of Jesus’ life was a confrontation with sin and evil and an invitation to grace and life, but at the moment of His “hour” the battle reaches its climax and intensity where life and death confronted one another. This battle and the victory that resulted is the deeper reason for the celebration of Holy Week. Beginning on Palm Sunday and throughout the days that follow, most especially the days we call the “Sacred Triduum,” the days from Thursday Night to Easter Sunday, we enter anew each year into Christ’s “hour,” His loving acceptance of the Father’s will that He be lifted up on the Cross, so that all who look upon Him and believe might have eternal life and be freed from the corruption of sin and death.

The Liturgies of the final days of Holy Week are rich in gesture and sign, rich in the teaching from Sacred Scripture that is read in abundance, rich in the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation, of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist, rich in the reality of Christ Jesus that is communicated to us through the Holy Spirit who acts most forcefully of all during the Liturgy. The suffering and death of the Lord are lamented by the voice of the Church using the language of psalms, but the general tenor of Holy Week is not desperate grief over the loss of a friend but joyful thankfulness and praise for the unlimited generosity of Christ, the Savior, who gave Himself up for us. It takes maturity of faith and a contemplative sense of time to discover the immense riches of the Liturgy of Holy Week. For this reason it cannot be just “business as usual” during these days; there is an attractive if deceptive temptation to fit in these days with a pre-ordained secular calendar outlook. For us as Catholic Christians, this is not just another weekend! My hope and prayer, and my invitation to all in this great archdiocese is that we will all enter Holy Week more desirous to keep watch with our Lord, to hear His consoling words, to be stunned and reawakened with wonder at the mystery of the words of Christ at the Last Supper: “This is my Body,” and “This is my Blood,” to be drawn on Good Friday to the Wood of the Cross and the wounded side of Jesus, to be delighted on Holy Saturday Night by the initiation of new members of the Faith , and to be astonished and convinced by the Resurrection of the Lord. The myrrh-bearing women who came to the tomb to anoint the body of Christ became the first to hear the announcement of His resurrection and they met Him “on the way.” They ran with the message of death overcome, first in and through Him, and then in us all. Let us also run and let us announce that same message, one that is more deeply interiorized this year. May the conviction of our minds and hearts be so manifest that others will catch the message by the witness of our lives. The grain of wheat bears fruit!

From myself, Archbishop Fiorenza, Bishop Vasquez and Bishop Rizzotto, a most Blessed Easter to all the priests, deacons, religious and faithful of this local Church. A very special Easter Greeting to all our newly initiated members!