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 28th 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.
