My dear parishioners and friends, The above texts are solemnly proclaimed during the Mass of the Third Sunday of Easter. At first, they might seem a bit hard for Eastertide. Yet the Church has good reason to ask us to reflect on them. With her tender love our Holy Mother the Church, stands firm in the Biblical advice that we cannot persevere in Easter graces, unless we are willing to continue to take up the cross and follow in the Lord’s footsteps. No cross, no crown. We must die to sin so as to rise in Him.
Many years ago, I was at a wedding with my older sister. At one point, I noticed that she had tears in her eyes. She asked me: “Do you know why older people have tears at weddings?” I said: “Because you are so happy.” However, in return she said to me: “No, it is because we know how hard life can be.”
The triumph of the Death and Resurrection reminds us that we must take the hard road. The Christian life, truly lived, is not easy but worthwhile. We should not look for an easy way to heaven because such a way will always be counterfeit. A Church that kneels before the world can only be fake. Our true joy comes from following Christ no matter what. That joy is always heavenly.
Jesus sends each one of us out into the world with the command: “(Luke 24:28) You are witnesses of these things.”
Yours in the Risen Lord, Fr. Mark G. Mazza, Pastor