The Gospel was preached even to the dead

AMDG

I, a soul rejoicing, to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ: Hallelujah! Happy Easter!! Oh glorious day. How blessed we are!

Although life has been rocky, my Lent has been okay. This year, as with last year, I’ve avoided challenging penances, which I’ve discovered are more distracting and stressful than helpful. The result is a Lent which is no more or less prayerful, but an Easter which finds me less exhausted and less consumed by the return to normal practice. Rather, I find that the readings at daily mass guide my spirit to the mood I associate with Lent, and by the end of 40 days I am in a somber place, ready for that vivid crescendo into the resurrection. This week I was blessed to be required to attend my own parish’s Holy Thursday observance. Instead of the rather fun and prayerful pilgrimage I wanted to make in the city, I attended a 7 PM mass followed by adoration. Along with two sisters, I chose to keep watch with the tabernacle, set up in our community room, with the lights dimmed, through the hours until midnight. Like the disciples in that garden, I could scarcely stay awake. That was followed by Good Friday and finally the Easter Vigil. I was again regretful not to attend my fancy city vigil mass, but I have been conscripted by the choir and it was it a joyful thing to celebrate Easter in our tradition, hear father’s homily, and eat donut holes and champaign together afterward. Today I get to do it again (thankfully somewhat abbreviated) and I am glad. God deserves all the praise!

Something that stood out to me during the Gospel reading was that Mary Magdalene wept. It’s not actually written that way in the Gospel of Matthew, but earlier in the day I had listened to Rob Gardner’s “Lamb of God” he draws from the Gospel of John (listen here.) That is how the image came to me. Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’s close disciples, came to the tomb weeping. She had great faith, and yet this was a time of great confusion.

Between his death and resurrection, when Jesus descended into hell, while the disciples wept, our Lord was preaching the Gospel to the dead. Those who had gone to sleep in darkness, whose souls must have pined for what they did not know, had also been in this place of confusion and waiting. I cannot imagine the tremendous, exultant joy that must have been felt among the holy souls waiting in the realm of the dead! Light breaks through the darkness! The promise of life is heard in the silence of death! Finally Jesus came to them and preached the good news. And on the Sunday of the Resurrection, Jesus also came to Mary Magdalene and redeemed her confusion and despair, turned her mourning into dancing! Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. (Ps 30:5)

What joy, brothers and sisters! I am sure you know in more ways than I, how trivial are the things we worry about every day. Whether it is the things we own, the time we spend, the people we hold onto, the futures we build… it’s different for all, but it all pales in comparison to the greatness of God, and the great things God has done for us. When our Lord hung on the cross, he said, “it is finished.” But he did not stop there.

Run joyfully, my brothers and sisters! Be glad and let the world know what you have been told.

With love,

Your Other Brother

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