He is Alive!

My dear friends, I am here to tell you that Jesus is not dead but alive. We have seen him with our own eyes. We have touched him with our own hands and tongue. We have consumed him into our bodies. Jesus has risen and we are witnesses to these things. If every I was in awe in my life, this morning was one of those moments. We awoke and traveled the way of Jesus with his cross to the calvalry which is now inclosed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We were almost alone and were able to touch and kiss the very rock upon which held the cross of our Lord and which his prescious blood fell upon. We then descended to reverence the pilar which Jesus was scurged at. We viewed the crack in the earth from the earth quake that took place when Jesus gave up his last breath. We then celebrated Eucharist in and around the tomb. The tomb is very small, only big enough for a few people. The group remained on the outside while Deacon Ken, a priest from Milan and myself celebrated the Eucharist in the tomb. The Word was proclaimed and homily given outside the tomb and the consecration took place above the slab where he was laid. Clearly the power of the Lord was upon us. OOOOOOHHHHHHH did I mention that it was the high mass. There are masses said every 30 minutes there from 5-8 in the morning. However there is one mass that is the high mass in which the Franciscan Monks chant all the mass parts. Its 45 minutes and YES WE CELEBRATED THAT MASS! WOW! We were all in tears as we declared victory over sin and death. There was one part in the Liturgy when I come out of the tomb with the consecrated Eucharist and elevate him to declare "Behold the Lamb of God, Behold him who takes away the sins of the world, happy are those called to the supper of the Lamb." Words cannot express the joy and jubilation of these words. These words are a declaration that Jesus is not dead but alive. He has risen and is alive among us. Alleluia is our battle cry. After an emotional celebration and internal felt experience of the Resurection, we had breakfast and visited the pool of bethesda where Jesus visited. We also visited the site where St. Steven was martyred. All in all it was a good morning. I feel alive in every way, truly a witness to light overcoming darkness. Those of you who are reading this, I assure you that there is no darkness in your life that Jesus cannot overcome. There is no sin that he cannot forgive. There is no place that he will not pursue you into inorder to give you life. His words to me at Calvary and in the tomb were: "I Love You." Everything he did was out of love for me and you. He shows us the depth of his love in the cross, in the tomb. He gave everything up for us. We have much to be thankful for and our life is how we thank him.