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Lenten Reflection Series
Easter Sunday
Click on the date in order to read the Scriptural texts on which the reflections are based.
April 11, 2004 - The Solemnity of Easter
Then the disciple who had arrived first at the tomb went in. He saw and believed.
Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple run to the tomb of Jesus. They must have been thinking that the tragedy of the death of Jesus has been compounded by his body being stolen! When the disciples discover the hollow, empty tomb, they each react differently. Peter apparently does not yet understand the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. But, the Beloved Disciple is able to gaze into the empty tomb and to believe in the resurrection!
How was it that the Beloved Disciple was able to look into the empty tomb and see the promise of the resurrection? Was it because of his special intimacy with the Lord, on whose chest he had rested his head at the Last Supper? All followers of Jesus are invited to be “beloved disciples.” Jesus loves each of us and seeks a particular and personal intimacy with us. Our own closeness to the Lord and our faith enable us to gaze into the “empty tombs” in our lives and not to despair but rather to hope for the fulfillment of God’s promises.
As Easter approaches this year, I have a most profound awareness of the emptiness that can afflict the human heart, as my life has been touched with great sorrow this year. On the afternoon of January 23, 2004, my nephew, Matthew DiNicola, was killed in an automobile accident while driving home from school. He was eighteen years old. On January 28, 2004, after attending my nephew’s funeral, my dear friend of nearly thirty years, Matthew Walsh, died suddenly of a previously undetected heart problem. He was forty-four years old, and leaves his dear wife and three young children. Even now, the sudden deaths of the “two Matthews” in my life seems totally unreal to me. The experience has left me feeling quite vulnerable and anxious. As a priest, I have sought to comfort my family and the Walsh family, but so often there are no words that can transform the “empty tomb” -- the hollow feeling that such deaths can leave in a loved one’s heart. But through faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection the healing can begin. Jesus is the one whose special love for each of us endures forever. It is He who rescues us from death.
In the various works of Catholic Human Services, the Church brings the love of Jesus to people who are despairing. The recent losses in my own life have increased my sensitivity to those who suffer tragedies of any kind, especially the sudden death of someone very young. Our colleagues throughout the Archdiocese reach out to people who are suffering every day. In their work, they represent Jesus Himself – loving people who are suffering in very concrete ways. Through our caring service, we help people who have lost hope to look into the empty tombs in their lives and to experience themselves as loved by a God who calls them to life and happiness. Catholic Human Services proclaims the good news of the resurrection of Jesus! He lives, and He loves us! Happy Easter!
Rev. Msgr. Timothy C. Senior
Secretary for Catholic Human Services
