Bishop Glen John Provost

Bishop of Lake Charles

Fifth Sunday of Lent

April 6, 2014

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

“O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.”  Ezekiel 37:12

Last month it was announced that Pope Francis was opening the gardens of Castel Gandolfo to the public.  I was glad to hear it, because there is something very moving in that garden.  

Castel Gandolfo is a small town outside Rome where the popes have had a summer residence for centuries.  In the papal gardens are the ruins of the Villa of Domitian, an ancient Roman emperor.   There on the ruined walls of the villa are graffiti, initials inscribed with little stars of David.   They are there because during World War II, Pope Pius XII had hidden Jews, awaiting escape and freedom from Nazi captivity and inevitable death.  The detractors of Pope Pius XII will never admit this.  But the mementoes of grateful Jews fleeing persecution stand to this day on the walls of that ancient Roman ruin.  I know because I saw it with my own eyes one day many years ago.  

The walls of an ancient Roman ruin had been an enclosure, a tomb, where hundreds awaited a resurrection of sorts, their release from inevitable death at the hands of the Nazis.  I could not help remember this when I read the Gospel for today.

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.  The raising of Lazarus is an anticipation of the Resurrection.   The odds against Jesus doing this are great.  Lazarus had been dead for four days, but Jesus had come for life.  Jesus commands in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43).   With these words, Lazarus rose from the walls of a cold, dark grave and the cloths that bound him were removed.  Jesus showed Himself to be what He told Martha He was, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).  Jesus has come to resurrect not only Himself but also to raise all who share in His life.

We are given this resurrected life.  This life is given to us vividly, in the Sacramental life of the Church, beginning at baptism.  St. Paul speaks of this.  “In baptism you were not only buried with him but also raised to life with him because you believed in the power of God who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12).  We call Sacramental Grace a share in God’s life for a reason.  This Grace is also a share in Christ’s resurrected life.  St. Paul will write in Ephesians, “God is rich in mercy; because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin.  By this favor you were saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).  

When we are forgiven sin in the Sacrament of Penance, Jesus says to us, “Lazarus, come out!”  To be forgiven is a share in resurrected life.  To forgive is to share that life with others.  As our Lord Jesus said to His Apostles, “If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them” (John 20:23).   We see this share in resurrected life in other sacraments like the Sacrament of the Sick.  After all St. James speaks of this in his letter.  “Is there anyone sick among you?  He should ask for the presbyters of the church.  They in turn are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Name of the Lord….  If he has committed any sins, forgiveness will be his” (James 5:14-15).    I anointed a lady once on her deathbed.  She was unconscious, but during the prayers she opened her eyes, recognized me as a priest and what I was doing, and beamed the most extraordinary smile.  She knew Jesus Christ was giving her a share in resurrected life.    What about the other sacraments?

When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus says, “Lazarus, come out!”  From our Lord Jesus, we hear, “He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:54).  When I say “Amen” to the Body of Christ, I am professing my faith that I will rise.  Just as Jesus’ Body and Blood are joined in me, I believe that my body and my soul will be joined in a glorious resurrection.  St. Irenaeus, a 2nd Century Catholic bishop of one of the churches in the Book of Revelation, wrote a great deal about this mystery.  I would like to conclude with his words that speak so eloquently about our Resurrected life in the Eucharist.  “Just as bread that comes from the earth, after God’s blessing has been invoked upon it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one earthly and the other heavenly; so too our bodies, which partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of resurrection” (Adv. Haeres. 4, 18, 4-5).  

Like poor victims we find ourselves entombed, awaiting someone to arrive and release us.  Our faith should be certain that we will hear the words of life and freedom, “Lazarus, come out!”