The Resurrection - Today

 

 How do we experience the Resurrection of Jesus for ourselves today?

 First of all, we experience the Resurrection in our lives by the forgiveness of our sins. 

Saint Peter teaches us in Sunday’s first reading that “...everyone who believes in [Jesus] has forgiveness of sins through His name.” All of us have experienced the shame, discouragement and suffering that come with sin. We have made bad choices and brought pain into the lives of others. With the Resurrection of Jesus, there is hope for us. We can be forgiven. He has taken upon Himself all our sinfulness. We can put our weakness, sin and guilt into His hands and be assured that He will erase it from our conscience through the blood He spilled for us on the cross and the new life He holds out to us in His Resurrection. Jesus, risen from the dead, has conquered sin and offers all of us who turn to Him with real sorrow in our hearts the gift of forgiveness

 Secondly, we experience the Resurrection in our lives through hope in everlasting life.

As believers in Christ, we no longer need to fear death. It is not the last word on our lives. Rather, because Jesus conquered death, we can be assured of everlasting life if we believe in Him and follow His commandments. Death now is the means by which we enter the inheritance that is ours as sons and daughters of God

 Finally, we experience the Resurrection in our lives through the good works we perform for others.

  It is natural for us to put ourselves and our needs before others. We fear that if we do not watch out for ourselves, no one else will. However, through the power of Jesus’ Resurrection, we receive power to overcome our selfishness and pride. As we ponder all that He did to save us, we cannot but be filled with the love of God. And that love energizes us to serve others through works of mercy. We put aside our own needs trusting that God will meet them for us and so are open to the work of the Spirit within us calling us to feed the hungry, to visit prisoners and to pray for the needy. All this is a result of the new life that flows into our hearts because of Jesus’ victory over sin