At daybreak on the first day of the week
the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus
took the spices they had prepared
and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
The Resurrection of Jesus changed the world. Death died. Life conquered death. Everything changed. Nothing would ever be the same for those who came to know Jesus, His Resurrection, and claim the Hope it promised.
Last week we watched in horror as the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris burned. It was an emotional experience for Catholics all over the world. It is much more than a “French cathedral”. Notre Dame has been a treasure to the entire world. The Cathedral of Our Lady, the Mother of Jesus Christ.
It took almost 200 years to construct, beginning more than 800 years ago. The men who began building it knew they would never see it finished. The men who finished it never knew the beginning.
Why did they spend their lives building a building no one would live in? It was one of the largest buildings built in France for centuries.
They built it precisely because of their faith in Jesus Christ and his Church. They built Notre Dame as one of the largest Churches in the entire world. For 2,000 years we have been learning to live with the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. The cathedral builders were people of the Resurrection.
Those men built Notre Dame out of love for Jesus’ mother, Mary, Nuestra Senora, Our Lady, Notre Dame. For centuries France was the largest Catholic country in the world.
Sadly, today France is one of the most secular countries in the world, and one of the least Catholic. I’ve been in France many times, and in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. It was a catechism in art with stone, wood and glass. The Cathedral was the product of Catholic faith. It took Catholic faith in the Resurrection to conceive of such a work. It took Catholic faith to build it, and to continue building over many lifetimes. People, rich and poor, dedicated their lives to build that Cathedral, 800 years ago, over many generations.
I have heard the French leadership this week promise to rebuild Notre Dame. Please forgive me if I say out loud that I do not believe they will re-build it. If they do, it will not be Catholic. Have you heard them use God’s name, or Jesus’ name, or mention the Virgin Mary, Our Lady? No you haven’t, because they don’t believe. They do not claim to be Christian or Catholic.
To build Notre Dame for 200 years required deep faith in Jesus Resurrection and profound understanding of our faith. France wants the building. France does not want the Catholic Church. Only the faith of the Catholic Church could have built Notre Dame. Only the Church can rebuild Notre Dame. Notre Dame was the “Hail Mary” in stone and wood and glass.
Today, many new catechumens come to the Church to begin their lives as Roman Catholics, and to receive the Sacraments of the Church, as millions have done over the centuries at Notre Dame.
This weekend we received a number of catechumens as new Catholics into the Church. We do not know what they will build with their new faith, but we trust that with their faith, like the builders of Notre Dame, they will live their faith, and make and make their lives a living “Hail Mary”, dedicated to Jesus Christ and his Church. We pray they will not abandon the Sacramental life of the Church as France has done. We trust they will build up the Church with their new faith, because, when the women went to the tomb,
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
May God bless you this Easter.