Bishop: Easter changed human destiny

Human destiny was forever changed because of Jesus’ resurrection, Bishop Carl A. Kemme said in his Easter morning homily streamed from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita.

“No longer bound forever by the effects of Original Sin, we have been set free, if we so choose, to live, to truly and fully live in the freedom of the children of God,” he said.

Easter is a day of victory by our God, Bishop Kemme said, adding that God is a victorious warrior who has conquered death.

“On this day, Jesus conquered and rose triumphant from the grave,” he said. “On this day, which is and always will be the Lord’s Day, Jesus reclaimed sinful Adam and restored our rightful place in paradise, where, we too, after being raised from our graves, will reign with him forever.”

We should ponder and reflect daily upon the Resurrection, the bishop said, “for the resurrection is the unique and altogether brilliant prism through which we are able to view the whole of our lives.

“How much hope we can see if we see everything through the looking glass of the resurrection! How much differently we can live in this world, knowing that there is a fullness of life waiting for us beyond the grave, which Jesus has promised to those who believe?”

Each moment of our earthly lives is one step closer to that moment when, like Jesus, we will open our eyes, minds, hearts, and being to the fullness of life that Jesus offers us, he said, “a fullness that we can already glimpse through faith, a fullness of life that we can already begin to live in anticipation of its promise. Jesus loves life and by his death and resurrection, he has secured for us eternal life.”

Jesus’ resurrection is the trump card that God always has in his hand, Bishop Kemme said. “It is the golden key that unlocks the gates of our self-made prisons and confinements. It is the divine power that rolls away the stones that seal us in our tombs of self-doubt, sadness, and selfishness.”

Jesus stands at the horizon of our lives, he said, beckoning us to come forth from these tombs, “as assuredly he will when at last he calls us forth from the tombs that will hold these earthly temples, calling us to rise and to live with him in glory.”

Bishop Kemme closed by saying that from wherever the faithful are when they hear his words, for most, in their homes, the domestic church, “May there on this day which is the Lord’s Day, the Day of Resurrection, may you join us and the whole church in rejoicing and in being glad. Alleluia!”