Our Lord instructed His disciples on how to pray. The Pater Noster, the Our Father, which is a profound prayer that reminds us that God is our father. It is the Holy Trinity that is the father over all of us. He cares and loves us. He desires that we unite ourselves with Him. We relate to God and He invites us to do so. What does that mean for us? How do we comprehend this incredible blessing unique unto us among all of creation?

When Our Lord first appears to the Apostles, at first they do not believe and then are overjoyed. A less well known third appearance that Christ made is at the Sea of Galilee, which is recounted in the Gospel of John. Our first pope, St. Peter, dives into the sea to draw close to Christ immediately. And when the Apostles finally meet Him, he has prepared a fire and meal for them. This is just a small example of the great kindness of Our Lord and why we should place our care in His love.

After His miraculous resurrection, Our Lord appeared to the Apostles to reveal that he was alive the flesh. Christ invites them to come and feel Him while also showing that He can still eat. Our Lord’s resurrection was not merely spiritual. He was not a ghost. Further, He showed his sacred wounds as a reminder of His great love for us. These wounds are not an ugly feature; they are glorified because of what they symbolize. Christ suffered for all mankind so that we too may be glorified and united with Him for eternity in heaven.

How does one describe the glorious Resurrection of Our Lord? It is the greatest victory in human history: over the devil, over sin, and over death. It is Our Lord’s triumphant conquering of this universe wounded by sin. Christ has made life the last word, not death. He has paved the way to heaven for all who choose to follow Him.

He is alive. The miracle of Christ’s glorious resurrection from the tomb is the centrality of the Faith. What we may forget is that He is alive perpetually in heaven and present with us now. It provides us with the perpetual opportunity to have a relationship with Him. Our Lord rose so that He can always be with us if we desire Him. It is an incredible treasure.

On the great feast of Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a time of immense joy. It is the moment that Our Lord, God incarnate, conquered death. He freed us from this ancestral curse out of His immense love for us.

The sufferings of Our Lady were endured with trust in Divine Providence. Although we speak of the particular seven sorrows of Mary, there were certainly others. Even before the birth of Our Lord, she endured several, but always quietly and patiently. They increased in intensity. Now we have an opportunity, as we enter the closing days of the most penitential time of the liturgical year, to reflect on her sacrifice. And as we approach the Resurrection of Our Lord, we are reminded to call upon her maternal blessings so that we may complete this journey to the holiest day in human history.

As Our Savior asked His disciples to wait with Him and watch with Him, He invites us to do the same. God appeared to us in the form of a man, humbling Himself. Through this abasement, He seeks to draw us closer to Him and see in this humbling the great mystery of His passion for all to imitate.

During the second half of Lent, the Church does something remarkable in the traditional liturgy: she has us read almost exclusively from the Gospel of St. John. From day 21 until the last day of Lent, there are only two Gospels that are not from St. John, outside the readings of the Passion. It is clear that the Church wants us to focus on this Gospel in order to learn about the Passion. We know that this Gospel is unique. It completes what is laid forth in the Synoptic Gospels by focusing without reservation on the divinity of Our Lord and the great sacrifice He made for the salvation of the human race.