Easter - the Death of Death

The following is the homily of Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, delivered during a livestreamed Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne, on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020.

“They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.  This man God raised on the third day…”.  These words of Saint Peter from the Acts of the Apostles express the very heart of our Christian faith.  “The Christian faith stands or falls with the truth of the testimony that Christ is risen from the dead” (Pope Benedict XVI).  

If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, He would just be remembered as a great religious teacher who taught some beautiful things and performed some miracles.  If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, His disciples would have just gone back to their previous lives and professions.  They would have continued to celebrate the Jewish sabbath and not begun to celebrate Sunday as the Lord’s day.  But they didn’t.  The Resurrection of Jesus changed everything.  They went out to bear witness to the Risen Lord.  

Saint Peter and the other apostles went forth and bore witness to the Resurrection of Jesus.  They did so because they actually saw the Risen Lord.  He appeared to them, spoke to them, and ate with them.  They were able to touch Him.  They encountered a reality that no human being had ever encountered.  For these disciples, the Resurrection was just as real as the cross.  They were surely astonished and overwhelmed by this reality.  It was an utterly new experience, something we can only imagine.  We celebrate this reality today.  We do so with faith.  In next Sunday’s Gospel, we will hear Jesus’ words to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”  Thomas and the other apostles received tangible proof of Jesus’ resurrection.  We believe through their word.

The apostle John believed before he even saw the Risen Jesus.  He believed when he saw the empty tomb and the burial cloths.  What did he believe?  It was at least some degree of faith in the resurrection.  He believed that God had somehow acted there, that God was responsible for the tomb being empty.  Saint John was the beloved disciple. Love leads to greater knowledge.  When John entered the tomb, “he saw and believed.”

What do we believe?  What is our Easter faith?  After all, none of us has ever experienced what we read about in the Resurrection accounts of the Gospels.  They speak of something new, something outside our world of experience.  We’re talking about a new dimension of reality.  Pope Benedict XVI has famously spoken about the resurrection as the greatest “evolutionary leap.”  It wasn’t the resuscitation of Jesus’ corpse.  God raised Jesus.  He did not just resuscitate His body.  In this final stage of human evolution, the barrier of death was overcome.  It was truly “the death of death.”

With Jesus’ Resurrection, we are brought to “a new horizon in which matter, space, and time are enveloped by divine love and power” (Christopher Baglow, Faith, Science, and Reason).  Jesus “rose to an entirely new and indestructible kind of life, a life that is beyond the biological life that we have by our nature” as human beings, beyond the life which Jesus assumed when He became man in the Incarnation.  “From the perspective of physics, the Resurrection is the elevation of matter to a new way of existing beyond what is possible in the normal state of the universe.  From the perspective of biology, the man Jesus, belongs totally to the sphere of the divine and eternal.”  His body now is “in” God (ibid).

What happened on that first Easter was an evolutionary leap, a leap to a whole new kind of life.  We celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection today with joy.  We celebrate also with hope because Jesus promised us this new kind of life.  At the end of the Creed, we proclaim our faith in this promise when we say: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.”  We believe that we will have a place “in God,” in His life which transcends the limits of biological existence. 

Biology always involves death.  We are even more keenly aware of this during this terrible pandemic.  With the Resurrection of Jesus, “the dominion of biology has ended” and “the sovereignty of death has ended as well.”  Jesus has opened for us a life that will no longer be restricted by biology, a life no longer subject to death.  Jesus conquered death.  That’s what we celebrate today.  

Saint Paul calls the Risen Christ “the firstborn of many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29) because He offers us the way to join Him, body and soul, into the glory of this new life, the glory of the Kingdom of God.  Remember what Jesus said to His disciples before His death: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be” (John 14: 2-3).  The Father’s house is not so much a place as it is the divine communion of life and love in which we share through the glorified humanity of Jesus. 

Even though our world is going through a terrible trial with so many deaths from the coronavirus, we still celebrate Easter Sunday.  So many are grieving the deaths of loved ones.  We have all experienced this grief in our lives, but as Saint Paul writes: “do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope” (1 Thess 4:13).  Jesus says to us as He said to the disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Have faith in God; have faith also in me (John 14: 1).”  

My brothers and sisters, no virus can destroy our hope and our joy today or ever.  Our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting fills us with this hope and joy.  Easter teaches us that God has conquered death, that His love is stronger than death.  As our Holy Father, Pope Francis, says: “death, solitude, and fear are not the last word.  There is a word that transcends them, a word that only God can speak: it is the word of the Resurrection.”  May the Risen Lord bless all of you with the joy and the hope of Easter!

‘The risen Lord gives us the love that does not fear death’

The following homily was given by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades at the Easter Vigil, Saturday, April 11, 2020, during a livestreamed Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne.

The Easter Vigil always begins in darkness. In fact, the Church does not allow the Easter Vigil, the first Mass of Easter, to begin until after the sun sets. The darkness of our churches reminds us of the darkness of the tomb of Jesus. This darkness also reminds us of the darkness of history and even the darkness before the dawn of creation. Creation only begins when God says: “Let there be light.”  

At the beginning of the Easter Vigil, in the darkness of the church, a light appears – the light of the Paschal candle.  It is the light of a new creation. When He raises His Son Jesus from the dead, God is saying again “let there be light.” The darkness is driven away the moment that Jesus rises from the grave. Light is created anew.  

Jesus is God’s pure light. At the Easter Vigil, the light of the Paschal Candle is passed to everyone in the church as their candles are lit. The Risen Jesus draws all of us into the new light of the resurrection. He conquers all darkness.  

When we were baptized, the Lord said to each one of us: “let there be light.” We became children of God and children of the light. We are to live as children of the light in the midst of the darkness that still threatens us. Evil still exists and the devil and his minions still seek the ruin of souls. But we walk through life illumined by the light of Christ, the light of faith. Even though we know that earthly death still awaits, we walk by the light of the One who conquered death, by the light of the Risen Christ who is our hope. 

During this coronavirus pandemic, we are keenly aware of the danger of death. We don’t yet have a cure or a vaccine to protect us. And, even when we do, there won’t be a cure for death. We pray that our scientists will soon develop the vaccine for the virus, but they will never develop a medicine for immortality. Actually, this medicine has already been developed. We received it at our Baptism.  

When Jesus rose from the dead, death was conquered. The tomb was thrown open. The light of Christ erupted and it has spread throughout the world and throughout history. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the true light, more than the physical phenomenon of light. He is pure light. He is God Himself, God who causes a new creation to be born in the midst of the old. He enlightens us with the truth. In Christ’s light, we can recognize what is true and what is false, what is right and what is wrong. 

The flame of the Paschal candle gives forth light. Christ the light illuminates us with the truth, the truth about life, about the dignity of every human person and the truth about God who is Love. The flame also gives forth heat. Christ not only enlightens us, He gives us warmth, the warmth of His love, the love that is stronger than death. The light of the candle is a fire. The fire of Christ’s love burns up evil. It is the fire of God’s warmth and goodness. The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles at Pentecost in the form of tongues of fire. The Holy Spirit strengthens us to spread the fire of God’s love, His warmth and His mercy, that transforming fire we received deep within us when we were baptized, the fire that was then enkindled within us when we were confirmed. We must protect that light and that fire from being extinguished by sin. The Lord calls us to walk as children of the light and not fall back into darkness.  

Our faith is often put to the test. It is put to the test during this pandemic. It is tested by suffering, evil, injustice, and death. Some people can lose faith because they have a false concept of God. We must look at the true face of God, the God who, in Christ, took upon Himself all the wounds of humanity. The God we believe in still carries the wounds of His passion and death. Like Jesus pointed out His glorious wounds to the doubting Thomas, He points them out to us in the trials and sufferings of this life. Those wounds show us who the true God is: the God who loves us to the extent of taking upon Himself our wounds and our pain. This is the God we believe in amid the sufferings and tragedies of life. This is the God we believe in during this pandemic, not a god who desires the suffering and death of the innocent.  Many ask why God has allowed this pandemic. It is important to remember that “the Lord does not take away suffering and evil from the world, but He has vanquished suffering and evil at their roots by the superabundance of His grace” (Pope Benedict XVI).  

The Risen Lord gives us the love that does not fear death, as the way to peace and joy. This is the peace and joy of Easter. The Risen One promises us a share in His Resurrection. This is the hope of Easter, the hope that does not disappoint. May we be witnesses of this hope during this crisis and witnesses to the love that destroys sin and is stronger even than death!

When we behold Jesus, we see love

The following message was shared by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades on Good Friday, April 10, 2020, during a livestreamed service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne.

Ecce homo! Behold the man! Pontius Pilate spoke these famous words when he presented Jesus to the crowd after He was brutally scourged, crowned with thorns and clothed in a purple cloak. “Behold the man!” On the surface, Pilate was basically saying: “Look how pathetic he is. How can you take him seriously as a king?” Pilate was ridiculing Jesus and he was trying to satisfy the crowds and actually get them to call for Jesus’ release. He was basically saying: “look how pitiful He is. He may be dressed like a king, but he’s no threat.” Of course, the chief priests and the guards were not convinced. When they beheld Jesus standing there bloody and bruised, they had no compassion. Instead of agreeing to Jesus’ release, they cried out: “Crucify Him!” They hated Jesus so much that they weren’t satisfied that he had been horribly tortured. They wanted the death penalty. 

Ecce homo! Behold the man! These words of Pontius Pilate have more than a surface meaning. These words have a deeper theological meaning than Pilate ever intended. Behold the man! Yes, Jesus, the Son of God, is true man! He is the Word made flesh who came and dwelt among us. He became a man. God assumed our human nature.  

“Behold the man!” Pope Benedict XVI wrote that these words take on “a depth of meaning that reaches far beyond that moment in time.” He wrote: “In Jesus, it is man himself that is manifested. In Him is displayed the suffering of all who are subjected to violence, all the downtrodden. His suffering mirrors the inhumanity of worldly power, which so ruthlessly crushes the powerless. In Him is reflected what we call ‘sin’: this is what happens when man turns his back upon God and takes control over the world into his own hands.”  

Pope Benedict goes on to say: “There is another side to this, though: Jesus’ innermost dignity cannot be taken from Him. The hidden God remains present within Him. Even the man subjected to violence and vilification remains the image of God. Ever since Jesus submitted to violence, it has been the wounded, the victims of violence, who have been the image of the God who chose to suffer for us. So Jesus in the throes of His Passion is an image of hope: God is on the side of those who suffer.” 

On this Good Friday, I invite you to consider that the meaning of what happened on this day reaches far beyond the time in which it took place. What happened on this day 2,000 years ago sheds light on the entire history of the human race. When we behold the man Jesus bloodied and scourged, we grasp the most profound understanding of sin and human suffering. When we behold the man Jesus, we see love. We see God. We see God’s Son, who was like us in all things but sin yet became a victim for sin in order to save us. We behold our God, who entered into solidarity with us sinners, even unto death. We see the Son of Man, who gave His life as a ransom for us.  

On this Good Friday, let us behold the face of Jesus. Let us contemplate that holy face, that human face that is also God’s face. It is the face of the Man of Sorrows who took upon Himself the burden of our sins and the anguish of death.  

My brothers and sisters, Christ’s face is reflected in that of every person who is humiliated and offended, sick and suffering, alone, abandoned and despised. When we “behold the man,” may we not cry out “Crucify him!” When we behold His holy face, may we say instead: “Lord, what do you want me to do for you?” And Jesus will answer us with these words: “Love one another as I have loved you.”  

At the last judgment, we will behold the Son of Man in His glory. I pray that we will hear Him say to us: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”  

Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Sorrows, intercede for us! Help us to follow the way to the kingdom of your Son Jesus!  

We must let the Lord wash us with his mercy

Holy Thursday

The following homily was given by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades during the livestreamed Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper Thursday, April 9, 2020, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne.

At this Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we begin the Sacred Paschal Triduum, the Passover of Jesus. We heard in our first reading from the book of Exodus about the Jewish feast of Passover, which commemorates the deliverance of God’s people from slavery in Egypt. From the very early history of the Church, Christians have seen the Jewish Passover as a foreshadowing of the Passover of Jesus. “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed,” St. Paul wrote. Notice that the lamb for the Passover had to be without blemish. Jesus is the Lamb without blemish, the Lamb of God who is without sin. He is the Paschal Lamb by whose blood we have been delivered from slavery, the slavery of sin, and have been saved from death.

Tonight we remember the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. As we heard from the book of Exodus about the institution of the Jewish Passover, we heard in the second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians about the institution of the Eucharist. In fact, that passage from first Corinthians is the oldest written account of the institution of the Eucharist, older even than the accounts in the Gospels. The Eucharist celebrates the new Passover, in which Jesus “passes over” to His Father by His death and resurrection.

At the end of the Exodus reading, we heard the Lord’s instruction to His people: “This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord, as a perpetual institution.” Even today, faithful Jews annually celebrate the Passover. Last evening, I was planning on being in the home with a Jewish family in Fort Wayne who invited me to join them for their Passover meal, but it was cancelled because of the pandemic. It is an important memorial feast of our Jewish brothers and sisters.

As God commanded His people to remember the first Passover, the Exodus, so Jesus commanded the apostles to remember His Passover. He said to them, as St. Paul recounts: “Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus says this twice: first, after He says over the bread: “This is my body that is for you.” And then again, after He says over the cup: “This covenant is the new covenant in my blood.” “Do this in remembrance of me.”

At every celebration of the Eucharist, we remember. At the altar, the priest repeats Jesus’ words and action. This remembrance is more than just “calling to mind” an action from the past because, in God’s time, which is eternity, that action becomes present in mystery, what we call “sacrament.” Christ’s Passover is made present. In this great sacrament of love, “Christ gives us the very body He gave up for us on the cross and the very blood which He poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (CCC 1365)

At the beginning of St. John’s account of the Last Supper and Jesus’ Passover, the evangelist writes: “Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Then St. John tells us about an act of great humility on the part of Jesus at the Last Supper. He washed the feet of the disciples.

It wasn’t incidental that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet during the same meal that He gave us the gift of Himself in the Eucharist. St. John Paul II wrote the following: “It is not by chance that the Gospel of John contains no account of the institution of the Eucharist, but instead relates the ‘washing of feet’: by bending down to wash the feet of his disciples, Jesus explains the meaning of the Eucharist unequivocally.” Jesus Himself said, after washing the feet of the disciples: “If I, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

My brothers and sisters, Jesus has washed our feet. He cleansed us with the water of Baptism. How often He has purified us in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation! Jesus purifies us with His word and His love. We must let Him wash us with His mercy. The Blood and Water that flowed from His Pierced Heart on the cross purifies us in the holy sacraments. But we are not to be just passive recipients of His divine goodness. He asks us, indeed, He commands us, to do as He has done. At the Last Supper, Jesus said to His disciples: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is what the Eucharist is all about: It’s Christ’s sacrifice of love in which we partake. It strengthens us to love as He did.

St. John Paul II once said that it is our mutual love and our concern for those in need that is “the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged.” If we truly open ourselves to the grace of the Eucharist, we are compelled to love, to wash the feet of our neighbor, to serve the poor and the suffering. Pope Benedict XVI explained it this way: “Each of us is truly called, together with Jesus, to be bread broken for the life of the world.”

During this time of crisis, we are not able to celebrate the Eucharist publicly, but we can still live the Eucharist which we have been privileged to receive throughout our lives. And during these days of the coronavirus pandemic, we are especially called to live the Eucharist, to witness to God’s compassion and love: in our homes, in our service to those who are sick, to those who are hurting, to those who are lonely, to those who are in need, and, of course, to the dying. And, even if it’s only possible to serve them and love them by our prayers, prayers are also an expression of love. We also love and serve our neighbor by keeping a physical distance at this time so as not to spread the deadly virus.

The Lord has loved us to the end. That’s what we celebrate during this Paschal Triduum. At the Last Supper, Jesus gave us the banquet of His love, the sacrament of charity. May we live the mystery of the Eucharist during this time of trial! May Mary, the Woman of the Eucharist, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, help us to live as men and women of the Eucharist!

Chrism Mass: We have all been anointed for mission

The following homily was given by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades during the livestreamed Chrism Mass Thursday, April 9, 2020, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne.

Brothers and sisters, at this Mass we are reminded that we were all anointed with the chrism of salvation, that we share in the consecration of Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One of God. And like Jesus’ anointing, it’s an anointing for mission: the great mission of bringing the Good News of the Gospel to the poor, proclaiming liberty to all those enslaved by sin, giving sight to those blinded by false ideas and ideologies and freeing the oppressed with the true freedom that comes from truth and love, not the false freedom that does harm and brings tyranny. We were strengthened by the Holy Spirit for this mission when we were anointed with chrism at our Baptism and Confirmation. And our priests were empowered in a unique way for this mission when their hands were anointed with chrism at their ordination.

The mission of Christ, the mission of His Body, the Church, cannot be thwarted by the enemy. It can’t be defeated by Satan since Christ is Victor over the devil and his minions. It can’t be thwarted by the present enemy, the coronavirus. Even in the midst of this pandemic, the Body of Christ and each one of us who is a member of His Body is called to live the anointing we have received, to persevere in the mission of Jesus, the mission He entrusted to us.

Usually, I speak about our vocation to “go out” as Jesus instructed us in the great commission: to go out to proclaim the Gospel. I tell our priests not to remain in their rectories or sacristies, but to “go out” to the people. In these days, the message seems to be the opposite: “stay in.” And this is important. We don’t want the virus to spread. It is an imperative of charity to stay in as much as possible. Of course, the imperative of charity requires our doctors, nurses, health care workers and first responders to go out, to go to work in order to bring healing to the sick. The imperative of charity also requires our spiritual doctors, our priests, to go out when a parishioner is seriously ill or dying in order to anoint them and bring them Viaticum, the bread of life. And others have to go out for the sake of the common good: our police and firefighters, grocery workers, garbage collectors, etc. We pray for all those who are going out, out of the necessity of charity, that God will protect them in their work.

Now the majority of people, those who are staying in, who should not go out unnecessarily, must not forsake their Christian mission. It is beautiful for me to see how so many of our people, priests, religious and laity are living the mission and going out as missionary disciples even as they remain physically at home. They go out by praying a lot more during these days, kind of like our beautiful Poor Sisters of St. Clare, who in their cloistered life, rarely going out, yet still serve the mission of the Church, the mission of salvation, serving others by their prayers and penance.

These days, some are going out by bringing food to those who need it, to the elderly and those who are homebound by illness, while others do so by sending money to support their parishes and other charitable causes, struggling so much during this time. Others are going out by calling people on the phone or contacting them by social media, checking on how they are doing, showing love and concern, especially to those who are lonely. I know children who are writing cards to the sick and to doctors and nurses. So many acts of charity and works of mercy being done during these weeks. And literally thousands of the faithful of our diocese are watching livestream liturgies like this, making a spiritual communion and living the Eucharist though they are not able to receive Holy Communion. I’m sure there are a myriad of other ways our people are living their anointing, attempting to do their part in fulfilling the mission the Church has received from the Lord.

I love the annual Chrism Masses in our two cathedrals. How much I always look forward to those celebrations with all our priests and so many of the faithful who always fill our cathedrals. Today I celebrate this Chrism Mass in a mostly empty cathedral, with just 8 of our priests representing all our priests: our Vicar General and Judicial Vicar and the 6 Vicars from the six regions of our diocese. They will bring back to all our priests and parishes the sacred chrism and holy oils that I will consecrate and bless at this Mass. They and all the priests watching this Mass on YouTube or Facebook will renew their priestly promises. Brother priests, I miss you today, but I’m glad we’re together via technology and, most importantly, in a spiritual communion. The communion of saints is not broken by physical separation. Our communion with one another and with our people is not broken by not celebrating Mass together in person, as our communion with the saints and the souls in purgatory is not broken by physical separation.

My brother priests, thank you for your fidelity to your priestly vocation, especially during this challenging time. Thank you for celebrating Mass every day. The Eucharist remains the center and root of your life, even when you are prevented from celebrating Mass with your people. Even when we celebrate Mass privately, we are not offering Mass as individuals because the celebration of the Eucharist is always an action of the Mystical Body of Christ. It is a supernatural reality. I hope you are deeply aware of the extraordinary intercessory power of the Mass you celebrate each day. The world in the midst of this pandemic needs this intercessory power as much as it needs a coronavirus vaccine. At the altar, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the greatest medicine and vaccine becomes present: the medicine of immortality and the antidote to death, the most holy Body and Blood of the Lord.

The life-blood of the priestly ministry is the administration of the sacraments. It’s difficult not being able to celebrate the sacraments as frequently as usual. Yet, you not only have the duty, but the joy and privilege during this time to bring Christ’s healing to the sick and dying through the Anointing of the Sick, administered, of course, with the necessary precautions so as not to transmit the virus, but administered nonetheless. When I bless the oil of the sick today, I will be praying for all whom you will anoint with this holy oil. In His public ministry, Jesus went about healing the sick. That ministry continues today. We must never stop commending those are ill to our suffering and glorified Lord. The source of this sacrament’s power, like the source of the power of all the sacraments, is the death and resurrection of Jesus, the mystery we will celebrate in the Paschal Triduum, which begins this evening.

Brother priests, your priestly office, as St. Augustine taught, is first and foremost an office of love. That love flows from faith and is intimately connected to hope. We were ordained to help build up the people of God in faith, hope and charity.

I would like to end this homily with a word about hope, especially during this time when many people are filled with anxiety and fear, with some maybe even tempted to despair. Why is this? One reason, I think, is because our culture and so many people in our culture have placed their hope in things that are transitory, that pass away, that can disappoint, that don’t satisfy our greatest need. Money and material things, for example. And now so many are losing their jobs and their savings are being depleted. Or maybe their hope has been all about good health and earthly life. And now so many are sick or afraid of dying. Or maybe their hope has been totally in science and technology. All good things, to be sure, but not sufficient. There’s been so much human progress in these areas, but unfortunately not a corresponding moral progress. When detached from God, this progress ultimately disappoints. Despite all the scientific and technological progress, there is still suffering and there is still death. Pope Benedict once wrote: “It is not science that redeems man: man is redeemed by love.” The only unshakeable hope is the hope of redemption, the hope of salvation, hope in the God who is love. Any other hope ultimately disappoints. Too often we place our hope in lesser things. These are little hopes, but we need the great hope, the hope that saves. Christ is that hope. His triumphant cross is our hope. Our Holy Cross confreres are reminded of this truth all the time, since their motto is Ave Crux, Spes Unica (Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope).

Brothers in the priesthood, I urge you to be prophets and witnesses of hope, especially during this pandemic. The world needs this hope. It is the hope proclaimed in these wonderful words of St. Paul to the Romans: “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?'

The following homily was given by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades on Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020, during a livestreamed Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne.

What was the most dramatically agonizing moment of the whole event of Jesus’ Passion? I believe it was that piercing expression of Jesus’ pain and sorrow when He cried out in a loud voice: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” We prayed these words in our Responsorial Psalm today, Psalm 22. Jesus prayed these words of Psalm 22 while hanging in excruciating agony on the cross.

As we begin Holy Week, I invite you to meditate on these words. Some erroneously think that Jesus was in despair, that He was rebelling against the Father. It’s true that Jesus felt forsaken, but He knew that this was not really so. After all, He also prayed while hanging on the cross: “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” But in His soul, Jesus no longer felt the presence of the Father. He underwent the tragic human experience of complete desolation. This was Jesus’ greatest agony: the lack of interior consolation. Jesus’ soul was afflicted. It’s important to keep in mind that Jesus was praying Psalm 22, the psalm that begins with those words: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” But that wasn’t the end of the psalm. The psalm that begins with that cry of extreme anguish ends with words of trust in God and praise of God.

In praying those words of Psalm 22, Jesus is not praying in a solitary way. He is praying as Head of His Body, the Church. Remember that on the cross Jesus was carrying upon Himself all the sufferings of humanity. In His sacrifice, Jesus is in full solidarity with sinful humanity. That solidarity includes the experience of abandonment by God, the most difficult suffering we can experience. So many of the saints, like Mother Teresa, experienced this abandonment. Yet, like Jesus, they also trusted and persevered in the midst of pain and suffering. In suffering, we can pray Psalm 22 with Jesus.

In His Passion, Jesus suffered with us and for us. His solidarity with us was born of love. That solidarity is the cause of our salvation, our redemption. It’s not a defeat. It’s a victory — the victory of love!

We celebrate this Holy Week in the midst of a terrible pandemic. Hearing the account of the Passion today, I could not help but think of all of the people who are suffering, especially those who are very sick and dying from the coronavirus. Consciously or subconsciously, I imagine they are crying out with Jesus: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” I imagine that those who can’t even have their families and loved ones by their side in their agony must be feeling the desolation Jesus felt. This tragic situation reminds me of the words of the philosopher Blaise Pascal: “Jesus will be in agony even until the end of the world.” That is true, yet, we know and we believe that Jesus is with us in our agony. We can unite our sufferings to His for the salvation of the world. Our suffering in union with Him can be redemptive through love.

Let us pray that this love will fill the hearts of all those who are suffering in our world, particularly those afflicted by the coronavirus who are struggling to breathe, like Jesus struggled to breathe while hanging on the cross. During this Holy Week, let us enter into the mystery of our Lord’s Passion and Death, the mystery of love beyond our comprehension, the mystery of our God who is love and whose love is victorious. We will celebrate that great truth next Sunday!