Archbishop Golka Calls Faithful to Renewal and Communion in First Easter Homily in Denver
- André Escaleira, Jr.
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
As Catholics from around the archdiocese gathered to celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection, the new archbishop emphasized how transformative that event was, is and continues to be in the life of every Christian.
“Alleluia! Alleluia! He is risen! He is risen indeed!” echoed through the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver as Archbishop James Golka encouraged the faithful to consider what they celebrated Easter Sunday: Christ is truly risen! Far from a merely historical event 2,000 years ago, Jesus’ Resurrection has eternal weight — even up to today.
“Jesus has risen from the dead; everything is different today. Everything is different. Everything we thought we knew, now it's a brand-new world in a brand-new way,” the archbishop said. “The Resurrection of Jesus provides for us a power and a strength that we could not imagine before.”
Now, this brand-new world that God re-creates through the Resurrection of Jesus is not a factory reset situation, he explained. Far from it — because Jesus is risen from the dead, he renews all things.
“Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, he renews all things. That's different than he renews new things. If he just renewed new things, that might leave us out. But he renews all things, which means that's us. He renews this entire world,” Archbishop Golka explained. “So he doesn't want to just blow up this world and start again, he wants to transform this entire world, and today, frankly, he's going to begin with a little bit of bread and wine on this altar that will become his Body and Blood fed to you and to me so his risen life will be in us then we can go forth and transform the world.”
That renewal and transformation lead to a deeper communion — especially through the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, or Holy Communion — both of which give us a share in God’s own life.
“By our Baptism, divine life is not only available to us; if you're baptized, divine life is in you right now,” the archbishop explained. “God's overarching desire is communion, friendship, marriage with you and with us. That's God's over-arching desire. He'll do anything to have communion with you.”
(Photos by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic)
For 33 individuals at the Cathedral and countless others around the archdiocese, “anything” even meant calling them closer to himself, into the Catholic Church through Baptism. Having been received into the Church, these individuals — not to mention each of us — are now called into a new way of being, the archbishop continued.
“Every Catholic Mass you celebrate, every event of receiving Holy Communion, you're not receiving a thing, you are receiving a way of being. And that way of being is that now you get to be friends with God again,” Archbishop Golka said, recalling the fall of Adam and Eve and its effect on us of distancing us from the God who loves us. “I think as Catholics, if we knew that and lived that, we would change the world, and we would be changed ourselves. So I often say don't go through the motion of just coming down and receiving something. Be prepared for an event of communion.”
Likening the Communion procession to a marriage procession, the archbishop encouraged the faithful to make their way down the aisle “with an intent to give your life away, to receive someone else’s life.” Noting that the same thing occurs in and through the Eucharist, he exhorted the faithful to approach the sacrament devotedly.
“Come forward with the intent to let the Lord give his life to you. You receive it if you're willing; give yours back to him. And let that event change you and change our world,” he shared.
Through the communion that takes place when we are united to Jesus in Baptism and continue to unite ourselves to Jesus in the Eucharist, we — and everything — are renewed and redeemed, the archbishop said.
“At every Catholic Mass, we see that. Because what happens to the bread and the wine on this altar? They are transformed into something eternal, the Body and Blood, the life of our Lord Jesus,” he explained. “That prefigures what God wants to do with all the world and with you and with me. Won't that be a great day if we are ready? We call the Holy Spirit to transform all of us, to make us more something of the reign of God. We call that the second coming, and we can't wait for it. You and I participate in it. This is not the end of this world; it's the transformation of our world.”
As new creations in Christ, “by our Baptism, the risen Christ has claimed you, and he's not going to let you go. You are part of Christ, and Christ is part of you. You get to share in all that Christ has,” Archbishop Golka continued.
Sharing in the power of Christ, we suddenly see the truth of Jesus’ own words that “for God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). While there are some things in life that are too big, too difficult, for each of us to do on our own, “if it’s something that Jesus would have us do, in the name of Jesus, we can do them,” the archbishop said.
Noting that most likely carry unforgiveness or resentment in their lives, something the spiritual fathers named one of the biggest blocks to the spiritual life, Archbishop Golka challenged those gathered to let Jesus loosen the grip as he concluded his first Easter Sunday homily in Denver.
“Brothers and sisters, today, Jesus wants to transform that. So, because in the name of Jim, maybe I'm not big enough, in the name of Jesus Christ, I forgive you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I set you free. That's where divine power can change us and change the world,” he concluded. “In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce this sin in my life. In the name of Jesus Christ, I bind and tie this evil reality, trying to put my life aside. In the name of Jesus Christ, I allow Christ to heal the wound in me that I've been carrying around. That's the power we have available to us every day.”
