From the Rector’s Desk…

 

Happy Easter!  “We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your resurrection until you come again!”  This is one of the three acclamations of the people to the priest’s proclamation of “the mystery of faith” after he recites the words of institution during the Eucharistic prayer.  Indeed, the Church proclaims that Jesus died and rose bodily from the dead to be the central tenet of our faith from which all other aspects of our faith have hope and meaning.  This has been the case since that first Easter morning when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other women and eventually Peter and the disciples.  We do not read about the appearances of the risen Jesus to his disciples on Easter Sunday morning.  There is only the witness of the empty tomb and the burial cloths in the tomb.  No corpse has ever been found.  In and of themselves, these facts would not be conclusive proofs of our Lord’s resurrection.  The conclusive proof would come later with Jesus’ appearance to Peter and the eleven and then to at least five hundred of his disciples.  These witnesses would become the foundation of our faith in the risen Jesus.  Yet, Jesus’ appearances after his resurrection are also shrouded in mystery.   The disciples sometimes fail to recognize Jesus.  He is able to appear suddenly, come through walls and be in their presence.  Yet, he can be touched and he even eats with his disciples.  The mystery of Jesus’ resurrection speaks of a new kind of life - a risen life which we will only experience at the end of this world.  A new creation awaits us.  Today, we look for the risen Jesus with the eyes of faith.  We see the risen Jesus most particularly in the Blessed Sacrament.  Our encounter with the Lord at Mass is the ultimate sign for us of the presence of the risen Jesus in the world. But we must put our faith in this sign of Jesus’ presence.  We note from the Scriptures that Jesus only appeared to those who had faith in him, who trusted him.  Thus, it is essential for us to have the eyes of faith in order to see Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.  And if we come to these encounters with the eyes of faith, Jesus can transform our lives so that we will become his disciples, full of hope and joy and a witness of Jesus’ continued love and presence in our world. 

 

I want to thank all who have made our Holy Week, Triduum and Easter celebrations so meaningful.  I want to especially thank Dr. Fitzgerald, Amanda Moles and the Cathedral Choir and Cathedral brass for their dedication to the music for these celebrations, making them moving and up-lifting.  I want to thank the liturgical ministers, servers, readers and hospitality ministers and Jim Pierce who operated the cameras for the live-stream.   Thank you for taking time away from your family to be here.  I appreciate those who helped clean the Cathedral in preparation for Holy Week.   Thanks to Toni Sartori and her crew for decorating the Cathedral for Easter, making it beautiful. I want to acknowledge Mike Pirik and Bob Carle for their help and the extra hours in making sure everything went so well.

 

May the blessing of the risen Jesus give you and your family peace and joy!

 

Fr. Kitsmiller