Supernatural gifts

Homily
Monday of the 2nd Week of Easter
12 April 2010
St. Lawrence Catholic Center

Cardinal George of Chicago just published a book - The Difference God Makes! In it, he attempts to answer the question that any believer must answer. How is your life different because God exists? During our 50 day celebration of Easter, a better question would be, "How is your life different because Jesus Christ is truly Risen from the dead?'

We reflect on this question in the context of reading continously during this Easter season, as we do each year, from the Acts of the Apostles. The apostles are changed men, after having seen the Risen Lord. The biggest change is a lack of fear. Instead of running from persecutors, Peter and John in today's selection rejoice that they have been chosen to be accused in the same way Jesus was. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter and John instead of running, are saying 'bring it on!' They welcome every chance to give witness to the Lord's Resurrection, that sin and death have been definitively defeated.

Such is the life of the Christian who has been born again in baptism, as Jesus teaches Nicodemus he must be. Grounded in the virtues, which keep sin from making us afraid of losing our earthly life that must end in death, we launch from our practice of the virtues to fly with the wings of the Holy Spirit, being open to the reality that God who first created the world is far from done, but is re-creating the world at every moment through the victory won by Christ! We Christians are set free by this victory, and become men and women whose lives are like the wind, in some ways measurable, but in many ways unpredictable, as we lay hold of this life begun in baptism that can no longer be measured in years. Our lives, if we have died with Christ and now seek the things that are above, must no longer conform to what is below, but must shine like bright lights that continue to scatter with Christ the darkness of sin and death!