THE MOST POWERFUL WEEK OF SUFFERING AND VICTORY

As Catholics, every year we commemorate Holy Week, the time when most Catholics go to church but why? If Jesus had only lived and died, He would have probably been considered just another figure in history, like so many others who left their mark over the centuries. For example, philosophers who left a mark because of their way of thinking like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Today, about Jesus, we would say that He was a man who healed the sick and cast out evil spirits, etc. However, during the week before His Sacrifice and Death on the cross,  Holy Week, thousands of people who were able to see the most severe death sentence of that time, remembering that He walked with them through the villages of Israel, Jesus repeatedly announced to His Disciples and the assembled that He was going to suffer but would also defeat death; here are His Words to His Disciples in particular, “He took the Twelve [disciples] aside and said to them, look we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priest and scribes and they will condemn Him to death. They will hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged, and crucified; on the third day He will rise again” (Mt 20:17-19) According to this text, Jesus was announcing what He was going to suffer, but the most noticeable statement is at the end, that He would Rise on the third day! During Holy Week Jesus went through His arrest and trial only to be taken to the slaughterhouse, that is, to Calvary, the place designated for the type of suffering and death He was sentenced to. Each year, the Church has us remember and understand the full impact of Holy Week.

On Good Friday, we are reminded of His Sacrifice on the Cross. His enemies believed that Jesus’ life was over with His death, and He would no longer attract crowds of followers; most of those who saw Him on the Cross did not believe that He would defeat death. The Holy Scriptures tell us that on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene, who had been freed from evil spirits by Jesus, visited the tomb and found it empty, “early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. She ran to where Simon Peter and the other Disciple, the one who was very close to Jesus, were staying and said to them, they have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.” (Jn 20:1-2) Later, outside the empty tomb, Jesus said to her, “woman, why are you crying? Whom are you looking for? Thinking He was the gardener, she said to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him. Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet Ascended to the Father. Go and tell My brothers that I am Ascending to My Father, your Father, to My God, your God. Mary Magdalene went to announce to the Disciples, I have seen the Lord, and He has told me this.” (Jn 20:15-18) Thus Mary Magdalene is the first witness and evangelizer because she is sent to tell the Disciples that Jesus Lives! Today, ESNE carries on that tradition first established by Mary to proclaim that Jesus Lives!

Through His Resurrection, Jesus proved that physical death is not the end of life and that God the Father, who formed us in our mother’s womb, has the power to resurrect us. Jesus had already referred to this when He said,  “I am the Living Bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eats this Bread will live forever. The Bread that I give for the life of the world is My Flesh.” (Jn 6:51) He said this to Martha, Lazarus’ sister. I find these words so powerful every time I read them, it confirms that Jesus has the power to offer us Eternal Life if we believe in Him. He said “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, will live; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this? (Jn 11:25-26) This is the great victory of us Christians, and the reason why churches are crowded on Easter Sunday, which is very beautiful. Those crowds do not continue to go to Mass afterwards, however, showing that they are only devout on the days of the Holy Week. They fail to recognize that Jesus died so that no one would remain in Eternal Death, which means dying without God and ending up in the fire of hell, thus experiencing a double death, physical death and eternal death. On the other hand, those of us who believe in His Resurrection and live the Life that Jesus preaches will live this temporary life with many blessings and will not see physical death as the end of our existence. For we have put our trust in the one who can do all things, and if He defeated death, then he has shown the world that those who believe in Him will defeat it too, for just as there are two deaths, believers have two Resurrections available: the first is a Metanoia, conversion; for just as Jesus said to Nicodemus that it was necessary to be born again, “I assure you, unless one is Born Again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus replied, how can a man be born when he is old; can he enter his mother’s womb again to be born? Jesus answered, I assure you, unless one is born of Water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Flesh is born of flesh, spirit is born of spirit. Do not be surprised if I have told you that you must be Born Again.” (Jn 3:3-7), so we must be Born Again. What does Born Again mean? To leave spiritual death and rise to new life through Metanoia, conversion, an encounter with Jesus, the first Resurrection. This is what will lead us to the second Resurrection, which will be Eternal Life and getting to Heaven to have Life forever.

I know people who lived their last days sick and suffering but hoping to have a place in Heaven after their death, knowing death was not their end. This means,  believe in and trust the words of our Savior, “In My Father’s house there are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you, for I am going to prepare a place for you. When I have gone and prepared a place for you, I will come back to take you with Me, so that where I am, you may be too” (Jn 14:2-3). These words help us understand why the Apostles and the first Christians, many of whom were martyrs of the Church, gave their lives believing in Jesus. They did not feel threatened by death for they trusted death was not the end of their existence. Also, the lives of the Saints are testimonies of Eternal Life. Our loved ones who are no longer with us but believed in Jesus and repented in their last seconds of life, are experiencing Eternal Life. That is why we say, “may they rest in Peace and may perpetual Light shine upon them.” And that is why the Cristeros said, “Viva Cristo Rey, Long live Christ the King” they did not stop believing in Jesus Christ, who is the Resurrection and Eternal Life! They knew that even though they were about to die, they would have Eternal Life, so they gave their lives freely, and Jesus welcomed them into the Kingdom of God. St. Paul said, “if Christ is not Raised, our Faith is futile.” (1 Cor 15:14) The tomb is empty! Jesus is Risen! Jesus is Alive!

On April 3, 1984, I began serving the Lord and since then, I have continued to proclaim that in Jesus we find Abundant and Eternal Life; since then, El Sembrador Nueva Evangelización has been a means for “no soul should be lost but all should be saved.” Finally, I want to share with you that I recently had a private audience with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. I appreciated your prayers for this trip. Talking with the Successor of Peter and asking for his Blessing on ESNE and for each one of you who are part of this Mission was a wonderful experience; he knows about us, he knows ESNE! And this encourages me to continue with New Evangelization. Thank you all for your support, Sowers of the Resurrection.

I pray to God that this Lent, which concludes with the Holy Week, may bring you the spiritual help you need to continue this pilgrimage towards the dwelling place that Jesus has reserved for those of us who open our hearts to His Word. May Mary Most Holy, our Mother, protect us in her womb, and may her Son, the Risen Jesus, always show us His Glorious Face. Amen.

Your friend and servant,

Noel Diaz