26 April 2020
Third Sunday of Easter
Despite Coronavirus constraints, two weeks ago we celebrated the solemnity of Easter, the historical resurrection from the dead of Jesus of Nazareth. Two thousand years ago, our first Pope, St. Peter, described Easter this way: “God raised Jesus up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24).
This statement implies a profound Christology. How could St. Peter have thought that it was impossible for Jesus to be held by death or by its throes? There are cemeteries and cemeteries full of evidence suggesting that it is possible for death to embrace human beings permanently. Did St. Peter really know what the throes of death are? Did he really know who Jesus was? Do you?
There are two points for the practitioner of Ignatian Spirituality to meditate upon here: First point: What are the throes of death? What do they feel like, look like, sound like, smell like, and taste like? Second point: By studying Jesus of Nazareth very carefully, what is there in him that makes it impossible for him to be held by these throes? Is it something about him that you can hear, see, taste, touch or smell?
Why don’t you turn to God, in prayer, and find out?