On Saturday, March 23, our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, met with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in what was the first such encounter recorded in the history of the Catholic Church. Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., current director of the Holy See Press Office, said the meeting was “a moment of profound and elevated communion.”
As I contemplated what Easter means to Catholics, inarguably the most joyous day of our liturgical year, I could not help but think where we, as a Church, were this past Feb. 28, the day Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation became effective and we were left without a Pope. With the election of Pope Francis just two short weeks later, we had a glimpse of what Easter joy is all about.
And so, with Easter upon us, and as we prepare for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, I continue my reflection on the Second Vatican Council. The fact is, the Second Vatican Council was responsible for the use of the term Paschal Mystery and its codification as part of our liturgical and doctrinal understanding of the mystery of the life and death of Jesus Christ.
In its document on the Liturgy, the Council Fathers stated: “The wonderful works of God in the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He achieved the task primarily by the Paschal Mystery of His blessed passion, resurrection from the dead and glorious ascension, whereby dying he destroyed our death and rising he restored our life.”
Who We Are as Christians
This statement has influenced the Church for the past 50 years in recognizing, especially through the celebration of the Liturgy, that we make present the Paschal Mystery. The fact is, it is a mystery. As the Fathers of the Church once told us, “We are an Easter people.” It is the fact of Jesus dying and rising that gives meaning to who we are as Christians.
Where is the mysterious element? Why is it not so easy to understand? Although we give adherence in faith to what we believe, we are not always capable of completely understanding the dying and the rising of the Lord and what it means for our redemption.
One of the great theologians of the Church, Karl Rahner, once said, “If God is the absolute mystery, then our consummation into this mystery is likewise beyond our understanding. Jesus’ resurrection simply means that this man, Jesus, whom we cannot split into body and soul each with its different destiny, is the definitive person, the one received by God into eternal bliss, the one whose history does not fade into the empty nothingness of the past, but has its end in the final consummation.”
Yes, it is a mystery, but it is the substance of our faith, this Paschal Mystery because, as St. Paul tells us: “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:14)
As we stand before this Paschal Mystery, we, an Easter people, try to celebrate, if not with complete understanding, but with complete adherence, the central doctrine of our faith. The Lord is truly risen, we hear in the Scriptures. The disciples went to the tomb, preceded first by Magdalene and the other women, and then John and Peter. They recognized that the tomb was empty. This is the mystery. There is no explanation until the Risen Lord Himself appears to the disciples. At first, He was unrecognizable because He had entered into a new sphere of existence. Mary Magdalene in the garden believes Him to be the gardener. The disciples on the road to Emmaus believe Him to be some stranger with a miraculous understanding of the Scriptures. Most of us believe, however, like Thomas, and are not believers until we can put our hands into His side and our fingers into His wounds. How can we accomplish this movement of faith? How can we be sure that the resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee of our own resurrection?
Unfortunately, there is no absolute certitude that human reasoning can give to us as the way in which we can come to an Easter faith. It is the work of faith itself. Faith is seeking an understanding based on hope which comes to an ultimate realization in charity and love which we experience in God Himself.
What would it take to make you believe firmly in the resurrection, not just as a fond hope but rather as an actual reality in which we live? It is the very reason why we go to Mass on Easter Sunday and each Sunday. We celebrate the Paschal Mystery of death and the rising of the Lord. That is why the Second Vatican Council made the point that each celebration of the Eucharist makes us truly participants in the Paschal Mystery. It is here that we put out into the deep mystery of Christ dying and rising. It is in the Eucharist that we affirm the faith we profess in the Creed regarding the resurrection of Jesus and our own resurrection from the dead.
We are an Easter People. Let us rejoice! The Lord is truly risen!