In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Here we are, Easter Monday.
Today, throughout this week, through this Easter season, we're full of the Easter joy,
Easter joy, which is Jesus himself, who is the resurrection.
Our joy is the resurrection, and it's a joy that no one can take from us, as Jesus told
the apostles, a joy that nobody can take from them.
Imagine the apostles, so full of depression, sadness, immense sorrow.
They were crushed, their whole life was totally ruined, and their beautiful master was crushed
and killed, and they and their humanity, even after Jesus told them so many times that he
would rise from the dead, couldn't see past their sorrow.
They couldn't see any hope, and they just didn't know what to do with themselves.
They're just wandering around, not knowing what to do with their lives, and then they
hear these reports of Jesus.
It was risen, the women said, and they didn't believe them, that they should have, and
then they saw Jesus, and then they saw Jesus, and what unbelievable, incredible joy they
must have had, so much joy that overflowed in their hearts, a joy that could never be
taken away from them, that they would always have for the rest of their life, because their
master, Jesus, God, their Redeemer, our Redeemer, is alive.
That's what their resurrection is.
Resurrection is life.
Jesus is not dead.
He's alive and will live forever, because he is God, but man united to God and in his
humanity is alive in heaven, too, and we, united to him, will be alive, too, at our
resurrection, at the end of our life, if we are faithful to him and united to him all
the days of our life, to our death.
A joy that can never be taken away from us, a joy that we carry throughout our whole life,
and a joy that we don't squander on ourselves, but a joy that we instinctively bring to the
world, especially this world in so much darkness today that's getting darker and darker and
thicker and thicker and evil and sin.
We can just feel it and see it happening in our country and in the world.
It's happening.
It's happening, and yet that joy can never be taken away from us, that joy, because Jesus
is always alive and always holds out to us our own resurrection, holds out our own eternal
life that we can have that's within our grasp, if we only stay faithful to him, and so we
are preaching this joy automatically, instinctively, enthusiastically, we go out into the world
to bring that joy.
This joy in the midst of all this darkness, to save as many souls as we can from this
darkness of sin and unhappiness and lack of hope and despair that so many people have
in the world.
We bring our joy, this joy that Jesus has given to each of us who know, know this truth
and are filled with this joy.
So let us go and spread it.
Let's go and stay united to Jesus in Mary.
Mary.
Mary, who?
Mary.
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Her growth.
Your growth.
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
Mary, who?
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Mary, who?
her help us to be faithful to Jesus all the days of our
life. So let us carry that joy
within ourselves without letting any of it go, but
to bring it to the world on a day-to-day basis
every day.
Amen.