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          Some of you may be hoping for a short homily today. If all I said was  “Jesus has been raised from the dead” and then sat down, many of you may be very happy, and say Alleluia! and Thanks be to God!, but you don’t get off that easy! It is true that Jesus has been raised from the dead. It is an article of the faith and the anchor which holds together everything we believe. But to say he has been raised is to say something even more important- Jesus Christ is truly alive today!

          When we speak about Jesus and his life and ministry, we often use the past tense, “Jesus said, or Jesus did.” Those statements would be true, but not complete. Because we believe Jesus is raised from the dead, we can say without a doubt that Jesus says, and Jesus does, and Jesus loves.

          Jesus is a real, living, divine person today. He is not simply a historical person from the past that we remember. The resurrection is not something he did once upon a time. He is acting in the world today. He desires to act in and love each one of us right now. He comes to us and calls us by name and says, see my body wounded for your sins; see my risen body glorified for your salvation. See in me, the living God, all that you need in this life to have joy and meaning and hope in the midst of hardships.

          Some people thought in the past, and some still believe today that we make Jesus real. We believe in the resurrection because we want to, it is a creation of our mind. It is simply a delusion we came up with. Nothing could be further from the truth. In faith, we do not believe that we make Jesus real. It is just the opposite. Jesus risen from the dead makes us real. He gives us our true identity. He suffered and died for us so that in our suffering and death, he would be with us. He makes it possible for us to receive the inheritance that God the Father has desired to give all of his children- the gift of everlasting life!

          If we desire to take our life seriously, then we must take Jesus Christ seriously. One of the ways we testify to the importance of Jesus Christ is to renew our baptismal promises. In these we profess our faith in Jesus Christ. We also commit ourselves to a life lived in Christ by daily prayer, service to God and neighbor, and living a morally upright life in line with Gospel teaching.

          We profess that the Eucharist, the greatest of all God’s gifts to his people, is truly the living Body and Blood of the living Jesus! We do not just celebrate the resurrection today, but in a profoundly sacramental way, we receive the resurrection of Jesus today and every day that we eat his Body and drink his Blood. His reality is now our hope of bodily resurrection on the Last Day.

          We have so much to be thankful for today: The gift of new life, the gift of God’s wisdom to be a real witness to the living Jesus, the true outpouring of God’s love on each one of us by Jesus living in our midst. Let Jesus be someone with whom we share our lives with every day, as individuals and as a Church, because he is truly alive and wants to share his divine life and love with us.

               This evening we follow the Easter candle into the dark Church; it is a small, flickering flame that pierces the darkness of night. God created light before he created the world, but the sun rises and sets every day. Tonight the light we follow is not something created, but Jesus Christ himself. The darkness of evil and death tried to extinguish him, but it did not succeed. When the Exultet was sung, the deacon called upon the heavens, the earth and the whole Church to rejoice because with this Easter light, God will never let darkness cover the world again. 

          The readings we have heard proclaimed from Sacred Scripture give us one clear message: God is intimately involved in the world and in the life of every single person. God does not wait for things to happen, he makes them happen. God does not expect us to find him, he goes out in search of us. He expects us to love him because he has loved us first. On this holy night, we discover just how great this love is. 

          Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead! The cold, dark emptiness of death is defeated by the warm, bright fullness of divine grace. The death of the Son is not going to be the final word: the life of the resurrection is the final word! God has heard our cries. He has seen our sorrow. He has experienced our sufferings. The Father responds to the Son’s offering by physically raising him from the dead. By this action, the resurrection does not bring about an end as much as it institutes a new beginning. 

          Our Christian faith teaches us that life in Jesus Christ marks a new beginning, a new birth. Tonight we baptize catechumens who have been preparing for this moment, and we welcome into the fullness of the Catholic faith those who have already been baptized. Those who are baptized and received into the Church truly begin a new life. They do not complete a journey, but rather begin one fully with us. 

          The journey of faith has its ups and downs, joys and crosses. God has entrusted the Sacraments to the Church so that we may always remember that we are never alone. We are brothers and sisters in a community of faith and witnesses to the grace, love and mercy of Jesus’ resurrection. We are daily asked to lead a life of prayer, service and witness of the love of God to the world. 

          To those of us who are already members of the Church, we renew our baptismal promises, knowing that we have a long way to go in our faith lives. We will hold lighted candles in our hands, remembering our baptism and the comfort that faith brings in the midst of a troubled and confusing world. 

          On this night the Church tells us to rejoice. We rejoice in the light of the Easter candle,  because Christ has been raised from the dead to conquer sin and death. We rejoice that he has added to our numbers by calling these catechumens and candidates to faith. We rejoice in the Sacrament of Baptism which sanctifies us and the Holy Eucharist that feeds us. Finally, we rejoice because even though this world may seem dark, we know that the Light of Christ’s love, presence and power will never be extinguished.

          Today is a day of tragedy and triumph, surrender and victory. We often do not connect these two realities, but today they are one and the same. We live in a world where evil seems to prevail over good, division seems to prevail over unity and hatred seems to prevail over love. All of that changes today through the death of Jesus on the cross.

          The tragedy of Good Friday is that an innocent man has been given a death sentence because of our sins. Jesus is guilty of only one crime: He loves us. He came to announce the Kingdom and he showed us many times in the Gospel how the coming of the kingdom will offer us peace and joy beyond measure if we forgive one another and do the will of the Father. We looked at our sins and weaknesses and then we looked at Jesus. our response was simple:  Crucify Him! Nothing is more tragic than unrequited love and that is what Jesus suffers today.

         While the prophet Isaiah foretold that we would reject his love, Jesus still surrendered all of it to the Father for us so that even though we would reject it, we might come to embrace it through his sacrifice. Love always has hope. Love always forgives. Love always transforms.

          The perfect sacrifice of the Son of God shows its true power today. The power of sin and death is destroyed by the wood of the cross. The despair caused by injustice and division is healed by the death of the Son of God, who hangs on the cross between heaven and earth, uniting once again by this sacrifice God and the human race. The generosity of the Son of God who surrenders himself into our hands overcomes the selfish desires we have to hold on to everything, whatever the cost.

          We look to Jesus bruised, beaten and bloody. It is difficult for us to face this ugliness. He is alomst unrecognizable carrying the burden of our sins. Many people would prefer to ignore his death and just proceed to his resurrection, but we cannot have one without the other. We need to accept the responsibility for what we have done. We come and venerate his cross. We kiss the body of our crucified God and thank him for his love and mercy. We ask him never to abandon us.

          We know that in the midst of our sufering and pain, our doubts and fears that he is still with us. Jesus encourages us from the cross to embrace our suffering and not to run from our fears. He reminds us to pray daily for what we need to serve him in faith. Most of all, he encourages us to love as he loves, without considering the price.

          Like the repentant thief, we know that Jesus is innocent. We know that we are sinners. We ask only one thing from him today: Jesus remember me, when you come into your Kingdom. Remember me when I feel lost and alone. Remember me when I am overwhelmed and tempted to despair. Remember me when I am tempted to forget you. Then, after these words leave our lips, we hope with all our hearts that Jesus will hear our voice and say: Today you will be with me in paradise!

          When we spend time with the Lord, we usually are looking for answers. Why is the economy bad? How can I be a good example to my kids? Why can’t the reds get their act together? We know that Jesus has the answers because he is God. The problem is that when we deal with the Lord, as we see in the Gospels, instead of giving us answers, he asks us questions. This evening he asks us a very important question: Do you realize what I have done for you?

          In the Gospel, Jesus may have only been referring to the feet washing, but there is more to it than that. His question to us reaches to the very center of who we are and how we are to live. Do you realize what I have done for you? How do we answer such a question?

          The answer lies in the celebration of the Mass itself. The second part of the question is What have I done for you? When we look at that we see that God has chosen to save us from sin and death by sending his Son Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary. We know from the Gospel that Jesus loves us to the end. There is nothing he will not do to redeem us and restore us to the Father’s grace. We know that the Father has put everything in Jesus’ power, and he chooses to give himself to the Father as an offering for our sins. To make us one with him and restore us to holiness, Jesus allows himself to be broken for our sins on the cross.

          Finally, we know that JeEsus entrusts himself to us as our food and drink. St. Paul reminds the Corinthians that Jesus’ action at the Last Supper was not just some symbolic recalling of the Passover, but the real and everlasting Passover. He has come to destroy death and make us who we are: children of God entrusted with a never ending inheritance. Through the words of the priest and the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, simple gifts of bread and wine become real life for us, Jesus Christ. He has made the Covenant with the Father unbreakable. This is what Jesus has done and continues to do for us until he returns in glory.

          So now, we return to the first part of the question: Do we realize it? We often find ourselves taking much for granted. This is especially true of the spiritual nature of our lives. Do we realize who we are receiving? Do we realize the cost for him? Do we realize the value of the gift of God himseld who has filled this world with meaning and hope? Do we realize that Christ’s committment demands a response on our part? If we take the Gift for granted, then how do we treat the Giver?

          Tonight we remember what he is still doing for us through his Church. With gratitude let us turn to the Lord with love in our hearts and praise on our lips. Let us pray: Lord we realize what you have done for us. You love us, you died for us and you give us your Body and Blood so that we may never be separated from you. You are my love, my life, my God. Give me the courage to proclaim your death and resurrection through my words and actions so that all may know your love through me.

     The Gospel for this first Monday of Lent is the Final Judgement scene of Matthew 25. It seems to me that the key to all of this is that we don’t have to look far to see our Christian mission. It is pretty much right in front of us. Those who were sent off to the everlasting fire had only one excuse: “When did we ever see you Jesus?  We only saw others, and since we did not think them to be worth it, we kept on going.” This is the time of year when we need to see the real worth of persons and deeds and words. It is said that a cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

    Jesus Christ was not a cynic. He saw value in every person and in every good deed and every kind word. He did not worry about the price, because the true worth of something is really beyond price. One word that could quickly describe the life of Jesus Christ is Sacrifice. He asks us to be willing to make sacrifices for others as well. We can sacrifice for our families; we can sacrifice for one another, and in all these things it is really a sacrifice to God. If we fail to sacrifice to God, we do not show him the honor that is due to him. If we sacrifice to God by sacrificing for others, we will not be goats, but sheep. And being part of the sheep of the flock, the Lord will be our Good shepherd and care for us.

Please pray for all priests and seminarians and support Sacred Heart Radio

     The Scribes and the Pharisees are asking Jesus why he is eating with sinners and tax collectors? Could it be that these people were the only ones to accept him? Maybe they were the only ones who invited him. Jesus makes it clear that it is for the sinners and tax collectors that he came. They are the ones in need of healing. If the only qualification for coming and eating with Jesus is that the person be a sinner, then we are definitely invited. We meet the requirements. Everytime we gather for Mass, we are there with Jesus Christ. The only difference today is that when we gather to be with the Lord, it is to eat his Body and drink his Blood. By doing so we proclaim his death and resurrection until he returns again in glory. This is the “medicine of immortality” of which St. Ignatius of Antioch speaks.

      Thanks be to Jesus Christ for coming to be with us and teach us that the Father is merciful and is willing to take us back if we only repent. Thanks be to Jesus Christ for dying for us on the cross that the disease of sin and death will not have the last word.

Please pray for all priests and seminarians and support Sacred Heart Radio.

        The reading from the book of Deuteronomy has Moses exhorting the Jewish people to choose life. To choose life means to choose God. It is clear from the Gospel that to choose God means to daily take up our crosses and following him. Most people want to prove themselves as worthy friends, spouses, employees, etc. This desire for approval is seen in our ability to make sacrifices for God, for others and for higher things such as honor and principle. The highest thing to sacrifice for is love. This kind if sacrifice is also the most difficult as well as the most fulfilling. In order to be filled, one must first become empty. Christ sacrificed himself on the cross for the love of all mankind. He is clear that if we are to follow him, we must sacrifice as well. This sacrifice should not be done begrudgingly, but joyfully.

       Now that we have begun this second day of Lent, let us ask the Lord to help us to be willing to sacrifice for others and for Him, both bigs ones and little ones. When we begin to do that, we will be one more step on the way to Easter, when we will see what our sarifices have really accomplished.

Please pray for all priests and seminarians and support Sacred Heart Radio.

     When Lent begins, I tend see people with sour faces. They look more serious and more devout, and they don’t look like they are having much fun. Lent can also be a fun time. It is time to do new things, like go to the stations of the cross, make a pilgrimage to a local fish fry or spiritual talk at a parish, or give yourself an excuse for changing something about your life, you wanted to, but did not have the nerve to carry it out.

      Some seem more interested in giving up stuff for a while rather than taking on things that can change the direction of your life. This is the time the Church gives us every year to challenge ourselves to become better believers. Even if we are good, we can always be better. It is not about the quantity of things that we give up or take on, rather it is about the quality of our love for God that needs to increase. When I measure the success of my work during Lent, I want to see concretely how I have grown in my relationship with God to become a better person intellectually, spiritually and even physically, though that is the hardest for me. 

     All I can say is have a good time during Lent. Enjoy being with God more, take advantage of the opportunities to serve others. Then, when we finally come to Easter Sunday, we will be able to truly celebrate how through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the working of the Holy Spirit we have become better servants of God and one another. 

     My four-night Lenten series entitled “Living Jesus: Reclaiming our Catholic Faith” begins tonight at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in Norwood at 7:30 pm.

These are the talks for the four nights

February 23  Living God, Living Word

February 24  Living Faith, Living Waters

February 25 Living Church, Living Bread  Mass with distribution of Ashes begins at 7:00pm

February 26 Living Sacrifice, Living Prayer

          Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This is the Patronal Feast of the Seminary. Co-adjutor Archbishop Dennis Schnurr celebrated the Mass and received three first year theologians as candidates for diaconate and priesthood. The right of candidacy is a public statement from the semiarians that they intend to continue Seminary studies and the Church accepts their intention. The Cincinnati seminarian received from James Romanello from Holy Trinity Parish in Norwood. There are also two seminarians from Toledo: Nathan Bockrath and Jeremy Miller. Please keep them in your prayers.