Easter Sunday

Mark 16:1-7

When reading this Gospel according to it reminds me of a couple of things.

(1) We as Catholics have heard this biblical account of Easter dozens of times, so much so that when we hear the story now, it seems to have lost a lot of its greatness. But let’s recall how we felt the first time we heard, "You were looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the man who was crucified. He is raised and is not here." I believe that as young adults we are numbed by the today's society to the Greatness of the God. I challenge you to heed to Matthew 18:3, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” and read this passage as a child would and embrace the greatness of God. We need to be overwhelmed with the wonder of His love and power, and need to trust in Jesus, believe Him with the simple faith of a child, knowing He is so far above us that we will never understand Him – but we can trust Him.

(2) It also reminds me of the Apostles' Creed, especially “was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell,” I always thought to myself, why would he descend to hell? While doing some research I came across a book which states, “Thus the descent into hell may suggest that the Son of God carried the sins of the world to hell; or the Son of God carried Good News of deliverance to the godly dead such as Lazarus the beggar and the repentant thief” (D. Bruce Lockerbie, The Apostle's Creed: Do You Really Believe It). A third-century Syrian Creed speaks of Jesus, "who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and departed in peace, in order to preach to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the saints concerning the end of the world and the resurrection of the dead.” I think we can all recall a time and place in our lives when we felt alone and far from God's reach, but as our faith teaches us God's saving power has no limits.

My brothers and sisters I ask you that this Easter be a throwback to the Easters we had as children. This Easter tell your parents you love them like you did when you were a child; spend time with your brothers and sisters, don’t be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve. Love God with a pure and simple heart, and trust that in the darkness his light will prevail.

In Christ,

Vidal Gutierrez Jr.
Fr. Kolbe Missionaries of the Immaculata
West Covina