Easter Sunday - Incorrupt Body - Sister Wilhelmina

 

Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, early in the morning, while it was still dark, she saw the stone removed from the tomb. She ran and went to Simon Peter and St. John, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put Him.”

Peter and John ran to the tomb, and discovered the tomb was empty, the burial cloths and also the cloth that covered His head, not with the burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place. By seeing the cloth that had covered His head, rolled up in a separate place, it helped them to understand, His body could not have been stolen, because nobody would remove the cloth covering the head, wrap it up and put it in a separate place. To them, the head covering was a sign, Jesus rose from the dead. Yet, they did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.

Normally, sooner after death, the body begins to decay. When Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus, after He told the disciples to remove the stone from the grave, they warned Our Lord, there would be a stench. But, by His power, He raised Lazarus from the dead, even after four days.

Farmers know very well what happens to animals very shortly after they die, especially during high temperatures. Rigor mortis sets in, the body begins to decay, a multitude of flies hover over the carcass, and there is a terrible odor. Within days, maggots start eat the flesh of the animal. And within several weeks, almost nothing is left except bones.

When I was the chaplain of the Carmelite Nuns, the superior of the nuns, died of cancer. The sisters wanted a natural burial, and didn’t want to embalm. They wanted to have the funeral the same day. Thinking, it would still be fine, 24 hrs later, I suggested we wait till the next day to notify others of her death, so they could attend the funeral.

The next day, one of the sisters said to me, “Father, we should have did the funeral yesterday, there is a terrible odor and she’s all swelled up.” I was horrified and saddened, by it all, she was like that in less than a day.

When Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days, normally a body would have begun to severely decay. In Acts Chapter 2, when Peter gave his speech at Pentecost, he quoted Psalm 16, saying, therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption."

The body of Jesus did not suffer corruption, during the three days buried in the tomb. God preserved His body from ordinary decay, associated with original sin. And then early Sunday morning, the third day from His death on Good Friday, by His own power, Jesus raised Himself from the dead was given a new glorified and resurrected body.

When He appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, due to His resurrected body, they failed to recognize Him. When Mary Magdalene first saw Jesus, she did not recognize Him. Only when He said her name, “Mary”, did she recognize Him.

When He appeared to His apostles, He told them, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

The resurrection of Jesus signifies the conquering of death. Death has no power over Him. At the end of the world, we too will have a new resurrected body.

As St. Paul said, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)

On April 28^th of last year, 2023, the Benedictine Sisters of Gower, Missouri decided to remove the body of their founder Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, OSB from the grave and transfer her body into the church. She died May 29th, 2019, at the age of 95. She was buried in a wooden coffin 4 years previously. What do you think the inside of the coffin should have looked like?

Mother Abbess Cecilia described how when she first peered inside the cracked coffin lid and saw a human foot, inside a black sock where one would expect to find only bone and dust, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she took a step back, collected herself, and leaned in for another look, just to be sure. Then she screamed for joy. “I will never forget that scream for as long as I live,” recalled Sister Scholastica Radel, the prioress. “It was a very different scream than any other scream,” the abbess agreed saying, “Nothing like seeing a mouse or something. It was just pure joy. ‘I see her foot!’”

Her body and her habit were totally incorrupt, but the cloth lining of the coffin was decayed. Speaking of her habit, Sr. Wilhelmina’s habit, she said, “It’s in better condition than most of our habits,” Mother Cecilia said, “This is not possible. Four years in a wet coffin, broken in with all the dirt, all the bacteria, all the mildew, all the mold — completely intact, every thread.”

For the sisters, the symbolism is profound. A St. Louis native, Sister Wilhelmina, an African American, spent 50 years in another religious order, but left, after it dispensed with the requirement of wearing its conventional habit and altered other long-established practices. She founded the Benedictines of Mary in 1995, when she was 70 years old. Mother Cecilia said of the habit, “It’s so appropriate, because that’s what Sister Wilhelmina fought for her whole religious life.” “And now,” Sister Scholastica said, “that’s what’s standing out. That’s what she took on to show the world that she belonged to Christ, and that is what she still shows the world. Even in her state, even after death, four years after the death, she’s still showing the world that this is who she is. She’s a bride of Christ, and nothing else matters.”

Most likely, Jesus preserved her body and her habit as a sign, that her life was pleasing to the Lord. She, who defended the habit, and lived an authentic religious life, is an example for all of us, that if He can preserve her body and her habit, He can also make our bodies new and resurrected like His on the last day. Sister Wilhelmina’s life was a constantly of dying to herself, and her desires through her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

She crucified her passions and lived for the Lord everyday of her life. As St. Paul said, “If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over Him. As to death, He died to sin once and for all; as to His life, He lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.”

There have been over 300 bodies of saints found incorrupt. Everyone died to sin and lived for God in Christ Jesus. St. Padre Pio’s wounds from the stigmata disappeared after his death. He is incorrupt. After death, St. Kateri Tekakawith’s face marred by smallpox was completely supple, like the face of a child.

Saint Bernadette, who Mary appeared in Lourdes, France and gave us the miraculous water, is incorrupt. St. Catherine Laboure, who gave us the miraculous medal, St. John Vianney, the patron of parish priests, and many other saints were found incorrupt.

An incorrupt body points to the future resurrection of the dead. It points to the power of Jesus over death. Death destroys the body, but God can, preserve the body from decay, in order to point to the holiness of the life of the person who lived their life dying to sin, and living for others. They lived their life in union with Jesus.

As St. Paul said, “For if we have grown into union with Him through a death like His, we shall also be united with Him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with Him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.” He also said, “Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.”

Every saint had a deep and personal relationship with Jesus. They lived their life believing the resurrected Jesus loved and cared for them. Their faith in Jesus is a model for all of us. Jesus is alive. Jesus is risen. Jesus is with us and most especially, He is with us in the Holy Eucharist.

Mother Angelica, most likely, a future saint, said, “Whatever you are doing, make the most of it. If its painful endure it cheerfully. If you are happy, remember whence came for your happiness. If something you regret, put it in the hands of Jesus. If it something you are sorry about, put it in His mercy. If it is something you fear, put it in His providence. If it is something in the future, trust Him. There is nothing He will not do for you. What does Jesus want from you. Your love, your will and your sins. We have a great God. He is loving. He is compassionate. He gives and gives and never tires. He is always there even when you ignore Him. He never ignores you. Even when you forget Him, He never forgets you. And when you stray from the right path, He is right behind you, ready to catch you and is there to help you when you fall.”

Let us turn to the Virgin Mary, who many believe Jesus appeared first, whose body never suffered from corruption, and was assumed into heaven. May She help us to live our life with Jesus, dying to self and growing day by day in our love of Him, who first loved us, laid down His life for us, and rose from the dead, that we may have life abundantly with Him in heaven.