HE IS RISEN I am the Resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25-26). This may be described as the basis of our religion. The human race has held many mysteries of faith to contend with ever since the beginning of time and probably the most decisive, yet baffling, is not that of death, but the triumphant Christ on Easter Sunday provides striking proof of the foundation of our faith. It is also the understanding event of our own existence and purpose on this earth. By dying, Christ offers us an invitation to membership in His Kingdom and our passage is from death to resurrected life and from earth to heaven. The conception of this membership has a profound effect on each of our lives. We have only ourselves to blame if we waste it. This Easter Sunday, as every Easter Sunday, when we witness the risen Christ, we associate this with the eventual resurrection of our beloved dead as well as our own. The Prayer of St. Francis ends with, . . . and dying we are born to eternal life. We should study, relish and imitate in order to give adequate thanks to Almighty God. In every phase of our life, our activity is limited by our capacity for our love of God. The services during Holy Week and especially Easter prompt us to call our attention to the sacredness of the burial place of our faithful. Our faith teaches that the souls of our faithful departed will be reunited with our bodies and glorified on the day of the general resurrection. Thus the Catholic Cemetery has a sound basis for cherishing the memories of our departed relatives, friends and neighbors. It represents and communicates the invisible union with one another. It represents and communicates an institution for salvation that can be visibly analyzed and recognized and finally, it represents and communicates the real presence the Church has accomplished. This Easter season will provide us a good opportunity to visit the Cemetery, to speak to our loved ones, to ask advise of them and especially to offer in their behalf our tribute of prayers.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 19:00:30 +0000
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