Go and Tell
In the book, Cor ad Cor, Bl. Louis Brisson, OSFS, is quoted as saying:
“I wish you all the blessings of Easter so that your passing through this world to your heavenly home might be made with Our Lord. I pray that you might spread the grace of the Resurrection all around you, as Mary Magdalene did in fulfillment of the desire of Jesus, ‘Go and tell My followers that I am risen.’” (Cor ad Cor, p. 136)
This quote from Fr. Brisson brings together my past and my present, my roots in Dominican Spirituality for twenty-seven years, and my life as an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales for the last fifteen, nearly twelve of those as a vowed Oblate.
Mary Magdalene was the first to preach or announce the Resurrection. She is the Apostle to the Apostles and the Patron of the Dominican Order. Mary was told by Jesus to “Go and tell My followers that I am risen.” Isn’t this the job of all the Baptized? When we were Baptized we put on Christ, our sponsors and/or parents received the Light of Christ and were told to help us keep that light burning brightly. As Oblates, we are called to honor St. Francis de Sales’ dictum to “Live Jesus,” so that people hear and see Him walking on the face of the earth today. We are to go and tell the whole world that Christ is risen.
How do we do that? We need not be in the center of the city proclaiming our faith in words shouted from the housetops, as the early disciples did. Although, when I was a young ordained, there was a man who would climb the parking garage of the Denver Symphony Orchestra and shout about Jesus Christ from the top of his lungs. He would do this to any or all who would listen, and even if no one listened. Yes, we proclaim the Resurrection with words, but words are not enough. Our lives are to proclaim the Resurrection and the difference it makes daily.
I was driving to Fountain Hill, PA the other day on an errand for one of our men. It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day. The trees were beginning to bud. Flowers were blossoming on the side of the road. It was clear that spring had sprung, that new life proclaims the Resurrection. Pope Francis reminds us of this: “Where all seems to be dead, signs of the Resurrection suddenly spring up. It is an irresistible force.” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Par. 276) Our world is transformed by that beauty and so are we.
Two days before writing this reflection we experienced the Eclipse. Many people traveled to places where they could see a total eclipse. Television news outlets went from city to city to show people watching the eclipse as it began, at full exposure, and as the eclipse was ending in that area. Then they went on to another city to repeat that process. I was struck by how quiet people became as they watched the events unfold. One news commentator noted that she wished we could get so many people gathered in awe and wonder about peaceful events like the Eclipse. A number of commentators mentioned how only God could have created a world in which something like an Eclipse could happen. People professed their faith. Others noted how spectacular this event was. People were transformed by the experience. Those professions of faith and transformations of attitudes proclaimed the Resurrection to me, seeing the experience through eyes of faith.
“ Look for signs of the Resurrection this week and then show the power of the Resurrection by living Jesus each day. ”
But we also proclaim the Resurrection when we smile at someone and see their face changed from a blank stare or even a frown to a great big smile. We proclaim the Resurrection when we have experienced healing of an illness or the acceptance that we need when the illness has become chronic. I’ve seen the Resurrection while sitting and praying with people at death’s door. The peace that comes into their bodies and their hearts, their choosing to let go of this life to make way for eternal life, and the change in their breathing all witness to the power of the Resurrection.
The Resurrection is not a resuscitation but a life that carries the brand marks of our sufferings and transforms them into a new being. When Jesus came through the door of the Upper Room on that first Easter night, He invited Thomas to touch the wounds in His side, hands, and feet. They did not recognize Him at first, but then their eyes were opened. When we proclaim the Resurrection with our lives, people may not recognize us at first, but the more they experience us, their eyes are opened.
Like Mary Magdalene, we live Jesus’ words: “Go and tell My followers that I am risen.”
Look for signs of the Resurrection this week and then show the power of the Resurrection by living Jesus each day.
Fr. Paul Colloton, OSFS, D.Min.
Superior
DeSales Centre Oblate Residence, Childs, MD
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