3rd Sunday Easter - In Traumatic Events - Jesus is There, Vigil Mass

 

Have you ever witnessed or heard about a traumatic event? Have you ever seen a ghost? When I was in high school, a 17 yr old boy died in a car accident. His car ran into the back of a parked semi. The accident was so bad, he was decapitated. How horrible for his family and friends.

While I was in seminary, four people were murdered in Wichita. I knew two of them. They were stripped of their clothing, and then they were shot in the back of the head in a field.

Later, when I became a priest, there was a plane accident that killed a father and son. There were two other boys who survived the accident, but it was traumatic for them to witness to death of two of their friends. I was there when I took his wife and the mother of her son, to see both of their bodies at the mortuary.

My nephew was in Afghanistan and his armored vehicle hit a landmine. He survived, but he has suffered much from the mental anguish of the war.

Once on a trip, I stayed in a particular place, in Atchinson, Kansas, and as I just turned off the lights to go to sleep, I saw a black figure in my room. At first, I thought it was a ghost, but later came to understand it was an evil spirit.

All of these traumatic events remind us how frail life really is. When we suffer from a traumatic event, it can cause us to be upset for a long time and some people develop what’s called PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, which can cause depression, fears, flashbacks and nightmares. This is true for first responders such are police, firemen, ambulance crews and soldiers.

For the Apostles, it was very traumatic three days. They were with Jesus during the Last Supper, His agony in the garden, His betrayal by Judas, Our Lord’s arrest, Peter denying Jesus. Later that night, after going before the Sanhedrin, Jesus was placed in a dungeon. The apostles then heard about Judas, one of the twelve, whom they were together with for 3 years, committing suicide. In the morning Jesus was taken before Pilate, then taken to Herod and then back to Pilate. Jesus was then scourged, crowned with thorns, and condemned to death by the people yelling, “Crucify Him”. Pilate gave in to their request and Jesus carried His Cross to the top of the mountain, falling three times along the way. Then at 12 noon, He was stripped of His clothes, and His hands and feet were nailed to a Cross for everyone to see. He hung there for 3 hours of agony before His death. Once He was dead, a soldier pierced His side with a lance and blood and water flowed from it.

Can you imagine what it was like for the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus to witness Her Son being treated so terribly. John, the apostle, and the other two women also watched as He was nailed to the Cross. They felt helpless, not being able to help Jesus, their friend. They stood there for 3 hours, as He slowly became weaker and weaker losing blood. His lungs filled with fluid and blood and then He died. How traumatic these events must have been for the Apostles, who were friends of Jesus, and who had been with Him every day for three years. They had witnessed His miracles and now He died.

But, what happened next would help the Apostles and us to know-- that no matter what kind of terrible experience we have in our life, Jesus is with us. While they were gathered together in the upper room, and when they were discussing about all that happened to Jesus, suddenly, He stood in their midst, and said, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought, it was a ghost, after all, Jesus was buried in a tomb. But, Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts. Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” He then showed them His hands and feet. He then wanted to remove all doubt and ate baked fish in front of them.

Jesus appearance to them is a reminder for us, that at the end of the world, we too will get a resurrected body, a real physical body, and we will be able to eat like He did. Even though we will have a physical resurrected body, we will be able to walk through walls like Jesus.

When He appeared to His Apostles, He spoke to them about the scriptures in the bible, that referred to Him and how they predicted these terrible events over the past three days.

If you had a past traumatic event that haunts you, whatever your situation, Jesus longs to do for you what He did for His disciples. He longs to give peace to your heart and mind. He wants to heal those emotional wounds caused by seeing, hearing or witnessing terrible events that should have never happened. Jesus is here today, looking into your eyes, saying, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. It is I.”

For Catholics, we believe the bread on the altar is changed into the true resurrected body of Jesus. And when we gaze upon the Eucharist, we are gazing upon Jesus, who is gazing upon us. Jesus comes in to the wall of our hearts and we are united with Him in Holy Communion.

During Eucharistic Adoration, Our Lord is standing before us as we adore Him with love.

Many may not have not had traumatic events, like what I spoke about. But you may have had bad events that bothered you. For example, divorce, or a child being separated from a parent, or the loss of a parent or grandparent. Being bullied by someone. A relative or friend who deeply hurt you, by their words or actions.

Today, Jesus is here and wants to help you. What is most helpful--- is to pray, and in prayer talk to Jesus about the event or circumstance that causes you anguish.

He already knows all about it, but He wants you to speak to Him about it in prayer. Jesus is God and knows everything. What you probably never thought about, Jesus is always present at every event in our life, whether past or future.

Jesus feels what we feel. He feels our fears. He knows why-- and when we are angry. He cares about our every circumstance of life. He wants to encourage you, to console you, to help you in your decisions. He wants to calm your fears.

Jesus is not in some far away place from us. Rather, He is risen. He is alive. He is with us and most especially in the Eucharist. While we may not see His physical body like the Apostles witnessed on the day Jesus rose from the dead, our faith tells us, He is really there in the Sacred Host and wants to help us and loves us more than we can possibly imagine.