Exultant Joy
Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Divine Providence Family of Parishes!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! The ultimate triumph has been accomplished, and the Divine Victor has vanquished death. All that remains for us is to share in His victory, by campaigning with Him until the end. He has made sure to secure the final victory already, and so we can be confident about the outcome of our struggles, no matter what happens in the meantime, as long as we remain faithful to Him.
It is beautiful today to meditate upon the first thing that Jesus did when He rose from the tomb. Tradition tells us that He first visited His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is not among the women who went to see the empty tomb, because she had already seen the risen Lord. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the earliest Church Fathers, who knew the apostles and the Blessed Mother personally, testifies to this. Her sorrow at the crucifixion was transformed into the purest and deepest joy.
In imitation of Mary, let us open our hearts wide to feel to the fullest every pain and every joy. Then our mourning will be changed into rejoicing. Then, let us also go see the empty tomb, and learn to never be afraid again. O death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory? The tomb is empty. Death’s power is empty. The grave is powerless to bury life.
During the darkness of the Easter night, the Church sings with exultant joy:
O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!
O happy fault
that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!
O truly blessed night,
worthy alone to know the time and hour
when Christ rose from the underworld!
This is the night
of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day,
dazzling is the night for me,
and full of gladness.
These beautiful words express the triumph of the Cross. The Cross transforms death into life, sin into grace, darkness into light. Possessing this power and this glory, we should never fear again.
After His resurrection, Jesus repeatedly commands us, “Be not afraid.” On Easter Sunday, He gives His apostles the power to forgive sins, instituting the Sacrament of Confession. He gives to men the power to be reborn, to live eternally. He breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit.
He has not given us a spirit of fear, but rather of power, of love, and of a sound mind.
Let us rejoice! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.
In joy with Mary,
Fr. Henry Hoffmann
