THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals The Resurrection of Our Lord 31 March 2013

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Once again we are left speechless as we contemplate the greatness of God’s gifts (graces) to us. Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, has suffered and died for us that we might live. He has risen that we might rise.

Since the fall of our father Adam we have been condemned to a dual death – death in sin and death in body. Adam was told when he ate of the forbidden fruit that he would perish. He ate but continued to live in his body. Something did die in him – sanctifying grace. We often speak of sin as the death of the soul, but the soul technically cannot die. The soul lives on forever – either in Heaven or in Hell. The death of the soul refers to the separation of the soul from God and His grace. In much the same way that physical death is the separation of the body and soul, likewise spiritual death is the separation of God and His graces from the soul. As the soul gives life to the body so God gives life to the soul. This separation in either case we call death. The soul that continues forever without God suffers tremendously because it is forever lacking in the one and only thing that can satisfy it, or make it happy and bring it peace.

We each have to die a dual death. We were conceived in sin and therefore in death, and we must die the physical death of the separation of our bodies from our souls. Christ has died once and all for us so that we may be restored to life. Christ has risen from the dead that we might rise twice from the death of the soul and of the body.

In the Sacraments, Jesus has given us all that we need to have life, to preserve life, and to restore life if we ever have the misfortune to lose it again. All of these wondrous gifts are spread out before us as we rejoice in Our Lord’s Resurrection. There is only One Faith, One Baptism, One Lord, etc. We celebrate the physical Resurrection of Jesus as well as what this means for us spiritually – the resurrection of our souls from sin. By His suffering and death, Jesus has merited for us the gift of Sanctifying Grace; and has offered us the opportunity to rise with Him spiritually from the death of sin to the life of grace. Let us not forget that at the end of time our bodies will rise from the dead to be united with our souls forever.

Knowing that Jesus has merited these tremendous gifts (especially the spiritual life) for us, does not yet apply these gifts to us individually. Something else is required on our part for these gifts to be applied to our souls individually. The Protestants and other heretics, would have us think that all that we must do is believe. This is a terrible misrepresentation. It is true if we understand “believe” to include acceptance and conformity with all that Christ has commanded us but, it is utterly false, if they wish us to understand that it does not require any active participation on our part.

Jesus has made it very clear more times that we can say that we must do certain things. A few examples should be enough for us to see and understand.

“He who believes and is baptized, will be saved” (So baptism is necessary.); “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you.” (So reception of the Holy Eucharist is necessary.) “Take up your cross daily and come follow Me.”; etcetera.

St. Paul also declares that he is bound to preach Christ Crucified. “Woe to me if I do not preach.” St. James will tell us that if we have none of the charity and works of Christ our faith is dead. “Faith without works is dead.”

While it is a time for rejoicing in the annual celebration of these wondrous gifts that Jesus has merited and given to us, it is also a time to remind ourselves that we must do our part also. It is a time to examine ourselves and see if we are doing our part to complete these works of Christ in our own souls. Are we “filling up within ourselves that which is lacking in Christ Jesus”? Have we put off the old man (sins confessed and absolved in the Sacrament of Penance) and put on the new man (life of Jesus that we receive in the Holy Eucharist)?

If the resurrected life of Jesus is not within us, but is still somewhere outside of us there can be no real joy and celebration in our hearts on this day. Let us resolve to obtain this joy, and if we have received it this past season of Lent let us resolve never to allow it to depart from us. May we live this day forward and forever in the One life of our Resurrected Jesus Christ.