Bishop Ruggieri celebrates Easter Mass, saying Jesus' resurrection brings us new life.
The joyous hymn, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” reverberated through the nave of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland as hundreds of people filled the church to celebrate Mass on Easter Sunday.
“Today we celebrate Jesus' resurrection and his triumph over sin and death, and its effects in history and in our lives. Jesus' resurrection means new life –new life now but, ultimately, new life later in heaven,” said Bishop James Ruggieri, who celebrated the Easter Mass.
Easter is at the heart of the Catholic faith, when the despair of Christ’s Passion and death is replaced with rejoicing at his resurrection and the promise of eternal life that it brings. Alleluia, absent during the season of Lent, is again proclaimed and the Gloria again sung. The Paschal candle, lit the night before during the Easter Vigil Mass, burned brightly next to the cathedral’s ambo, symbolizing the light of the Risen Christ.
During the Mass, the faithful heard how Mary Magadalene went to the tomb only to find it empty. At first, she fears someone has taken Christ’s body, but then she encounters the Lord there. (John 20:1-9).
“We see the power of personal relationship, the power of love. Jesus calls her by name. He calls her ‘Mary,’ to which she immediately replies, ‘Rabbouni,’ which means teacher but in a much more personal, intimate way. Not only is she now able to recognize Jesus, she clings to him,” the bishop said.
The bishop said that it was Mary Magdalene’s love for Jesus that gave her the resilience and courage to announce the good news that she had seen the Lord, and it was his love for Mary Magdalene that helped her put her challenging past life behind her.
“Love changed Mary Magdalene. Being authentically loved by Jesus healed Mary Magdalene. I can't imagine Mary Magdalene embracing a life of faithful discipleship because she was first intellectually convinced that Jesus was the Messiah,” the bishop said. “She experienced freedom from sin and evil because of an encounter with Jesus, not first because of evidence.”
Bishop Ruggieri said each of us, too, can help people encounter Jesus by the way we witness to the faith and live our lives.
“An encounter with Jesus often begins through an authentic encounter with another human being who genuinely exhibits a flame of faith based on his or her own encounter with Christ,” the bishop said.
To illustrate the way the Light of Christ can spread, Bishop Ruggieri recalled how the flame from the Paschal candle was passed, candle by candle, throughout the cathedral during the Easter Vigil Mass.
“A great fire from heaven didn't come down and light all our candles at once. We passed the light person to person. The result, again, our cathedral church was illuminated, beautifully illuminated by light. Each individual contributed uniquely to illuminating the whole cathedral,” the bishop said. “Encounter is needed for effective evangelization. The Church moves forward one soul at a time as each individual catches the fire of belief from one another.”
Easter being a time of renewal, the Mass is also a time during which Catholics renew their baptismal promises, renouncing Satan, professing belief in Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and promising to serve God in the holy Catholic Church. After the promises were voiced, the bishop and Father Seamus Griesbach, rector of the cathedral, walked throughout the church sprinkling the faithful with holy water, a reminder of the new life in Christ they had received through the waters of baptism.
