April 06, 2025 English

In the world today, it is hard not to grow weary of hearing about the persistent clutch of evil and deadly forces, but can we afford to resign to despair and helplessness? As individuals, we may feel powerless, but as followers and representatives of Christ, we have a responsibility to be alert about the reality and strive to find ways to confront the onslaught of evil. 

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, resulted in up to one million casualties and continues to threaten world peace. The carnage in the Gaza war caused about 50,000 casualties, mostly Palestinians. The people of North Korea have been hostages in their land for over seventy years. In our own country, gun-related deaths are close to 50,000 every year. In recent years, the loss of life from drug overdose has reached as high as 100,000 or more. The tactics of cruelty are on raw display in the treatment of the immigrants to the US.  

The culture of death and denigration of human dignity shows itself in human trafficking, violation of fundamental human rights, and dehumanizing depiction of immigrants. On both individual and social levels, we encounter corrigible yet persistent ignorance, an inability to reform and repent, which undermines and destroys all the good things while failing to acknowledge one’s culpability, slowly paralyzing our ability to see others through Jesus’ eyes. 

Perhaps this spiritual paralysis partially explains the senseless violation of human rights and its continuation despite much publicity and opposition. The impairment and loss of moral and spiritual judgment make possible the exploitation of desperate people. To many of these victims, living seems almost worse than dying. Many are in the grip of death. 

Having opened a new possibility to a Samaritan woman and endowed a blind man with the gift of sight, Jesus today restores life to a man who was under the firm grip of death in the tomb. Jesus commands: “Lazarus, come out!” and tells others: “Untie him and let him go.” Finally, Jesus overcomes even death. 

Death seems so final and terminal. However, we say it is liminal, namely, it is the threshold that must be passed to reach another stage of life. Addictions, spiritual paralysis, and tyrannies seem so permanent and beyond remedy. But God has the final word, not them. St. Paul confidently proclaims, “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you” (Romans 8:11).  

Through the indwelling Spirit, we can be freed from the bondage of sin and even death. Jesus wants to untie us from this captivity through Baptism and Confirmation, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. On March 29, our 150 young people received Confirmation. The fire of the Holy Spirit made the church so hot that we had to open all the doors, which was necessary anyway due to the overflowing crowd. These young people not only received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but they also became a gift to the parish and the world! They represent Christ as His ambassadors through the power of the Spirit within themselves. 

In this Jubilee year, we are called to be the pilgrims of hope in this turbulent and broken world. We are invited to plunge ourselves into the life-restoring mercy of our loving God as we celebrate these sacraments. We pray for those who will receive the Sacraments of Initiation at Easter and for those shackled by deadly forces and conditions so that they may find ways to achieve true freedom and life. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we are called to witness the presence of God’s kingdom and obey Christ's command, especially to those who are in the grip of evil and death: “Come out!” “Untie him and let him go.”

Fr. Paul D. Lee