Monday of the Second Week of Easter

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

Paul writes these words to the Corinthians because some of them have started to doubt and deny the resurrection of the dead. They did not understand the need for a resurrected body. They preferred a purely spiritual afterlife to one that would mix perfect spirit and imperfect flesh. However, as Christians we do not see our bodies as evil. They were created good by God when He made Adam and Eve. Our corruption comes from original sin and the wounding of our ability to control our spiritual faculties, our intellect and our will. This injury opens us to temptation and inclines us to evil. But thankfully, this is not the end of the story. Jesus died not only to redeem us from death, but also grant us the saving grace that can heal the wounds of original and personal sin. He came into this world to sanctify the whole person, body and soul. It is not enough to control our lower passions, but give into our selfish intellectual or willful desires. We have to become like Christ in mind, body, and spirit or we shall discover that we are not wholly Christ’s disciples. This is why his resurrection and the revelation of his glorified body are so important. They remind us that we are called to tame both our body and our soul so that we might share in the glory of the resurrection.

What are we doing to sanctify our bodies’ senses and passions? How can we discipline our intellect and will so that they will be more Christ-like? Do we thank God each and every day for the saving graces He has granted us through the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ?

O Lord, through your resurrection you have saved us.

Amen.