The Happy Priest Reflects on Being Alive with the Risen Lord, Now

The challenge for every Christian of the modern world is to make Jesus present to others by the authentic witness of a life lived with conviction that Jesus is truly alive. In reality, Christianity is a continual celebration of Easter.  We are an Easter people.  Jesus has truly risen from the dead. 

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - Jesus never used the word grace to explain the reality of divine life within the human person.  This word was first used by Saint Paul.  Instead, Jesus uses different images to describe the intimate relationship between God and the human person.  One of those images can be found in today's gospel narrative: "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15: 5).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines grace with these words:  "The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our souls to heal it of sin and to sanctify it.  It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism.  It is in us the source of the work of sanctification" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1999).

Grace is categorized into two types of grace; i.e., sanctifying and actual.  Again, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church we find the following explanation: "Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love.  Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God's call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2000).

"I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15: 5).

We stay connected to Jesus through daily prayer and the Sacraments.  Our relationship with the Lord grows through our assiduous ascetical life and the action of God with each individual.   The rocks and the weeds that impede growth and fruitfulness need to be removed through our active mortification and the purifications that God brings about in us.  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.  He takes every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit" (John 15:  ).

In reality, Christianity is a continual celebration of Easter.  We are an Easter people.  Jesus has truly risen from the dead.

"The resurrection of Christ is not the fruit of speculation or mystical experience: it is an event which, while it surpasses history, nevertheless happens at a precise moment in history and leaves an indelible mark upon it. 

The light which dazzled the guards keeping watch over Jesus' tomb has traversed time and space.  It is a different kind of light, a divine light, that has rent asunder the darkness of death and has brought to the world the splendor of God, the splendor of Truth and Goodness. 

Just as the sun's rays in springtime cause the buds on the branches of the trees to sprout and open up, so the radiance that streams forth from Christ's resurrection gives strength and meaning to every human hope, to every expectation, wish and plan.

Hence the entire cosmos is rejoicing today, caught up in the springtime of humanity, which gives voice to creation's silent hymn of praise.

The Easter Alleluia, resounding in the Church as she makes her pilgrim way through the world, expresses the silent exultation of the universe above all the longing of every human soul that is sincerely open to God, giving thanks to him for his infinite goodness, beauty and truth" (Pope Benedict XVI, April 24, 2011).  

"I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15: 5).

When the human person encounters the living person Jesus Christ; when the human person encounters mystery; when the human person experiences the transcendent; when the human person finds the treasure and the pearl of great price; when we are connected to the vine, only then will the human person be able to escape from apathy and skepticism, and become exuberantly alive with joy, peace and enthusiasm. 

Jesus is alive and we become alive, we remain alive by being united to him.

"I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15: 5).

Today, Jesus is visible through his Church.  Today's challenge is that all those who are part of this Church must make Jesus visible to contemporary man.  This is why Pope John Paul said that "man is the way for the Church" (Redemptoris Hominis, 14.3).

If the presence of Jesus in the Church is clouded over by archaic bureaucratic forms of governance that impede communion and evangelization, then the Church will not be convincing for modern man who already is so immersed in boredom and cynicism. 

Presentations and programs do not move people.  Only something tangible and real can awaken in people a sense of astonishment.     

Currently I am finishing a great read.  A People of Hope is an inspirational and many times a very comical interview of Cardinal Timothy Dolan by John L. Allen Jr. 

My favorite part of the book is where Cardinal Dolan describes the life of the Catholic Church.

 "You know when I most experience 'the Church'?  Every other Saturday morning I walk down, in street clothes, to a Franciscan parish near Penn Station.  There I stand in line, usually eight or so people in front of me, for confession.  Nobody knows I'm a bishop. 

I watch the street people waiting for the soup kitchen to open; I see a mom and her little girl light a candle and say a prayer; I look into the church and see dozens of faithful there in silence before the exposed Eucharist; there's a young couple leaving the parlor after their marriage prep; there's an elderly lady crying in front of Our Lady's Chapel; over in the corner is the drop-off table for baby clothes for the young moms with a trouble pregnancy.

And here I am, a sinner in line with other sinners, just wanting to take Jesus at his word that he welcomes and forgives me.  Bingo!  This is the Church!  Nothing purple about it" (pages 150-151).

The challenge for every Christian of the modern world is to make Jesus present to others by the authentic witness of a life lived with conviction that Jesus is truly alive. 

My dear friends, love cannot be bottled up and contained.  The transformation that takes place within us by grace, changes us into living members of the Church.  Disciple and apostle are the same.  "By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples" (John 15: 8). 

Every member of the Catholic Church is called to holiness and every member of the Catholic Church is called to be an apostle.  The Second Vatican Council (1962 - 1965) reminded the Church of this fundamental truth: every member of the Church is called to be a saint and an apostle. 

"There are innumerable opportunities open to the laity for the exercise of their apostolate of evangelization and sanctification. The very testimony of their Christian life and good works done in a supernatural spirit have the power to draw men to belief and to God; for the Lord says, 'Even so let your light shine before men in order that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven' (Matt. 5:16).

However, an apostolate of this kind does not consist only in the witness of one's way of life; a true apostle looks for opportunities to announce Christ by words addressed either to non-believers with a view to leading them to faith, or to the faithful with a view to instructing, strengthening, and encouraging them to a more fervent life. 'For the charity of Christ impels us' (2 Cor. 5:14). The words of the Apostle should echo in all hearts, 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel'" (1 Cor. 9:16).

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Father James Farfaglia is the Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, TX.  Click here and listen to Father's Sunday homilies.  Visit Father on the web and check out his book Get Serious - A Survival Guide for Serious Catholics, an inspirational and easy to follow guide for living a deeper spiritual life.

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