He is Risen!

04-20-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Rejoice! The Lord has risen. Today, the whole of Christendom marks its highest feast, EASTER, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Behind the great salvation of humanity is the story of the Lord’s suffering and dying for us. His death was the Redemptive Death. The entire redemptive act, known as the Paschal Mystery, began with His birth, encompassing His life, death, and resurrection. But without His resurrection, His life, suffering, and death would be meaningless for our salvation.

The resurrection of Jesus marks the crowning glory of His salvific work, bringing new life to all He saved. The saving action of God should profoundly touch the deepest core of human existence. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection transform us into new life, establishing a new way of life both here and now, and in the life to come, opening eternal life with His Father.

Easter is not simply professing that Jesus has risen but, more importantly, recognizing Him as the Son of God and Savior. He is a Savior who wants to be in our hearts and lives, inviting us to live with Him and make His Words our rule of life, our way of life: Love one another as I have loved you (Jn. 13:34).

Jesus has risen! He is with us, and we feel His presence in different ways. We experience Him in His divine word, in the Church, and especially in the Eucharist. In the Mass, Jesus is present in the consecrated host: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world (Jn. 6:51).

This Easter Season, may the presence of the Risen Lord dwell in our families, homes, and lives. When we love God and love one another, Jesus assures us of His presence: If you love me, my Father will love you, and we will make our home in you (Jn. 14:23).

We can celebrate the presence of God in our homes in many ways. First, within the family—when we share the Word of God, pray together, and celebrate the sacraments as a family. Second, in our Small Christian Community—where we break the Word and break bread through fellowship: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst (Mt. 18:20).

As we build the new St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Church, I invite all parishioners to make it your Spiritual Home. The Spanish phrase mi casa es tu casa reflects Jesus inviting us to make His house our spiritual home. Personally, it means preparing and rearranging my own home for Jesus so that when He comes, He feels truly at home.

Hospitality at St. Rose is an imitation of the warmth and kindness of Jesus. He rearranged His life for us, stripped Himself of His divinity, and became man so we might feel at home with Him: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).

This Easter season, I wish to welcome everyone with the same warmth and kindness to a way of life following our Lord: Mi casa es tu casa. The Heart of Jesus is a place of love; is our heart a place of love, too? Jesus loves us and calls us to love one another with the assurance of His presence: If you love me, my Father will love you, and we will make our home in you (Jn. 14:23).