Sunday, April 5, 2026

Resurrection of the Lord – Year C

Homily by Father Emmanuel Schwab

1st reading: Acts 10,34:37a.43-XNUMX

Psalm: 117 (118), 1.2, 16-17, 22-23

2rd reading: Colossians 3,1-4

Gospel: John 20,1-9

Click here to download the text in PDF format.

We must always return to the concrete reality of what the Gospel describes, because
God reveals himself in a story, in a concrete story. And these are also
in the concrete events of our lives that the Lord Jesus manifests his
presence, he who is risen. Mary Magdalene, who seeks the Lord, who
She would even be willing to recover his body, but found only an empty tomb.
came to fetch the apostles: Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved left
to see… And indeed, this Gospel is about vision.
The disciple whom Jesus loved arrives first, and we are told that he sees the
linens that are laid flat. The Greek verb that is used, the verb βλέπω, means
“to direct one’s gaze”. Indeed, to see, to perceive, in a certain way one
It records what we see, but we simply don't interpret it. Yes, we can say:
I saw. And what does he see? He sees precisely the linens laid flat, one might say.
the sagging linens, because everything is in the same position as when it was laid down
Jesus in the tomb, simply there is no longer Jesus in the burial cloths — allow
This familiar expression: as if Jesus had been “deflated” from the inside. This
It's not that the shroud was removed to take away the body; everything is in place, but it
The body of Jesus is no longer there.
Pierre enters, and there, a different verb is used. It's the verb θεωρέω which
will give the French word "theory," which means more: to observe, to examine.
contemplate. Pierre sees, one might say, the impossible. For it is not possible that
the body no longer being in the linens and the linens being as they are.
contemplates without understanding…
And then the other disciple returns. Here, a third verb is used: the verb
ὁράω, which is rather the verb to see in the sense of “to understand” — when one says I see
What you're saying, which means I understand what you're saying. "He saw and he believed." One could
It's almost a translation: "He understood and he believed." And the Gospel tells us what he understood.
Until then, the disciples had not understood that, according to Scripture, it was necessary that
Jesus rises from the dead… So far. But from that point on, the disciple whom
Jesus, who loved, understood from Scripture that what he saw before him was the
a sign that Jesus has risen.

And this teaches us a great deal about how to move forward in our Christian lives. The interpretation of our life, the understanding of what is happening, lies at the meeting point of the events in which we are, the events that we experience, and the word of God. And it is at the same time the word of God that illuminates my life — in particular the Gospels but not only; the Old Testament as well. The Gospel comes to light a scene in my life, when I say to myself: what I am experiencing here is exactly like when Jesus healed the eyes of the blind man or when the lepers came to ask him to cleanse him or when he fed the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 fish, when he enabled a paralyzed man to return to his life and so on… But also in the other direction, events in my life can help me to understand what happened in the Gospel. I'll give a small example that has nothing to do with personal matters. I was invited to Benin more than 10 years ago and I was welcomed in a village with all the honors due to I don't know who, because I was nothing much, I was just a poor little parish priest. And I was received with great honor, which meant that there was a whole troupe around me, there were drums behind me, there were women dancing in front of me, and there were some singing. And that day I understood what happened when Jesus was passing through Jericho and Bartimaeus, a blind beggar sitting by the roadside, said: but what is happening? (see Mark 10:46-48). What happens is that Jesus does not cross alone: ​​he crosses with a joyful crowd who sing, dance, and play music. There is a whole world of activity surrounding Jesus. The events of our lives sometimes allow us to better understand the Gospels, but our lives always unfold at that juncture. That is why it is important to read and meditate on the Holy Scriptures, and in particular the Gospels. It is normal for a baptized person, a Catholic, to ordinarily read the Gospel. It is normal for the Gospels to be on one's bedside table or in one's pocket; there are small books with the 4 Gospels. Read them so that they may dwell in our memory, so that they may be more and more in our hearts. We have this beautiful expression in several languages: to know “by heart”, because it has entered the heart and it never leaves. And so, when the Gospel is in our hearts, the Holy Spirit can use it to illuminate what we are experiencing, to bring out a passage from the Gospel in the face of this or that situation. When this happens to us, it's certain: the Holy Spirit is showing us something. Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus loved the Holy Scriptures very much. She meditates on them constantly and for her, they are truly a living word, especially the Gospels. Towards the end of her life, she told us this: Since Jesus has ascended to Heaven…—which we will celebrate at the Ascension—I can only follow him by the traces he left, but how luminous these traces are, how fragrant they are! What trace is Thérèse talking about?

I only have to glance into the Holy Gospel, and at once I breathe in the fragrances of the life of Jesus and I know which way to run… (Ms C Folio 36, v°) Brothers and sisters today, we solemnly open the great fifty, the fifty of Easter Time which will lead us to the feast of Pentecost. These 50 days, the longest liturgical period of the liturgical year, are there to help us live in the presence of the Risen One. And how can we live in the presence of the Risen One? It is not about feeling his presence: it is about welcoming him through faith. One first thing we can do is to say this act of faith to him every day: "Lord Jesus, risen Lord, you are here with me — "I am with you always until the end of time," this is the last word of Jesus in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew (Mt 28:20) — "You are here, Lord, you are here. I can't feel you, I can't see you, I can't hear you, I can't touch you, I can't taste you. But I know by faith that you are there, and because you are there, I am not afraid of anything, not even of trials. "The second thing is to take the time to listen a little to what Jesus has to say to us." And that is why I was telling you that it is normal for a baptized person, a Catholic, to read the Holy Gospels. And if you've never done it, take one of the four Gospels and read it from beginning to end. We are in the year where we read more of Saint Matthew; take Saint Matthew. Then you can continue with Saint Mark, then Saint Luke and finally Saint John. And as you will have taken a liking to it, you will continue with the Acts of the Apostles, then the Letter to the Romans, the first to the Corinthians, the second to the Corinthians, the Letter to the Galatians, the Letter to the Ephesians, the Letter to the Philippians, the letter to the Colossians, the two letters to the Thessalonians, the two Letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus. You will conclude with the Letter to the Hebrews. And there, you can read Saint James, the three letters of Saint John, the two letters of Peter, the letter of Jude, and you will finally have the desire to finish with the Apocalypse, and you will have read the entire New Testament! The third thing — I say the first thing is to confess the presence of Christ, the second is to listen to his word — the third is to take a little time of silence each day. Start with 5 minutes — it's not much — in silence to be under the gaze of Jesus. Prayer is not primarily about saying things, it is not primarily about asking for things: it is primarily about being there under the loving gaze of Jesus, of God the Father. It is simply a matter of stopping one's agitation and saying to the Lord, like the Virgin Mary: "Let it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38). Do with me what you will. The fourth thing is to let the Lord come and touch us even in our bodies, and these are the sacraments of the Church. The sacraments continue the touch of Jesus, we see it in the Gospel: he puts mud on the eyes of the blind man and tells him “Go wash in the pool of Siloam”, he takes by the hand the young girl who is dead to raise her up, he puts his fingers on the mouth and on the ears of a deaf mute and so on… he lays on hands. The sacraments are the touch of Jesus which continues today through the Church. And there are two great sacraments that are necessary for us: the sacrament of the Eucharist, to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, on the first day of the week. And next Sunday we will hear how, from the very beginning, the apostles met on the first day of the week. Since the resurrection of Jesus, the apostles and disciples have gathered every first day of the week, on Sunday, to celebrate the Eucharist. This is not an option in the Christian life, it is a vital necessity. And that is why the Church speaks of it as an “obligation”, because it is a vital necessity. And then we have another vital need, which is the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, because we need to welcome this salvation in the concrete reality of our lives and in the concrete reality of our sin, and to be able, by going to the priest and coming to acknowledge our sins before him, to hear a word that is addressed to us and not to our neighbors. A word which tells us: And I, a poor priest, a sinner like you by the sacrament of the order which I have received, have the power to tell you that the Lord forgives you your sins, and I forgive you your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It is not we, through our imagination, through our self-persuasion, who provoke God's mercy: it is by exposing ourselves to this mercy. And here too, the Church tells us: Don't be fools, go to confession at least once a year, preferably at Easter. And if there are any among us who have not confessed for more than a year, I really encourage them to go and see the priest. In this basilica there is a priest available every day from 10:30 am to 12 pm, from 15 pm to 17 pm and in the summer from 14 pm to 18 pm. Every day at the Carmel from 10am to 11am and from 15pm to 17pm, there is a priest available who waits, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son who waited for the prodigal son to return, to throw himself into his arms as soon as he appeared and tell him all his love. Yes, brothers and sisters, it's not complicated to be a Christian. Saying to the Lord daily “You are here, Lord”, listening to his word, taking some time to pray to him, allowing ourselves to be constantly recreated by the sacraments, and for what purpose is all this? With the aim of what every man's life is: to love, to love God and our neighbor, as Jesus loved his Father and as he loved us. That is why he gives us his Holy Spirit! How wonderful it is to be a Christian! And if we truly live it, we will be true peacemakers in the world.

Amen

Click here to download the text in PDF format.