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Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz. I am so excited to be joining the Courage under fire gala on May 23rd in Nashville, Tennessee. And I would love for you to be there, too. I believe that this world needs people of faith who are willing to live with clarity, conviction, and compassion. That's what this night is all about. Standing in truth, rooted in Christ and unshaken by the storms around us. You know this. We weren't made for comfort. We weren't. We were made for courage. So go to the Courage Under Fire gala by grabbing your ticket@courageunderfiregala.org that's courageunderfiregala.org and God bless the Lord be with you. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John. Glory to you, oh Lord. Chapter 20, verses 1 through 9. On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, they have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him. So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. He bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and he saw the burial cloths there and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths, but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first. And he saw and believed, for they did not yet understand the Scripture, that he had to rise from the dead. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to be seated. So last night at the Easter vigil, we began in darkness. If you've ever been to the Easter vigil, you know that that's how it starts. It starts in darkness. And I think the reason why it starts in darkness is because darkness is real. And that's what we're saying. I think when we show up to the Easter vigil, we're showing up and we're saying this. The darkness is real, that sadness is real, that grief is real, that loss is real. That what you and I experience on a daily basis, the uncertainty of life, that that's real. And, you know, it's interesting, that darkness, that loss, that grief, that uncertainty that's led so many people to come to the conclusion that everything is lost, that everything is uncertain. In fact, some people in the ancient world really believe that, you know, everything's just fate. So we walk through this life, in this world that's just destruction. It's just darkness. It's just death, and it just means nothing. That's all it is, darkness. You know, this whole Lent, we followed the life of that man. Takashi Nagai, who is a Japanese Catholic, right, who was raised Shinto, became an atheist, and then ultimately came to faith in Jesus, became a Catholic. And we know that his job, his profession, he was a radiologist. He was a physician at a time when radiology technology was just beginning. And as radiologist in Japan, Takashi Nagai, he saved countless lives. But if he were to be honest, he would know that at best, all he was doing was throwing stones at death. If he'd be honest, he knows that he was just keeping it away just a little while longer. Yes, he might have helped people, help them recover and help them not die. But we all know the truth. If you live long enough, we know the truth. The truth is that ultimately death wins. And then even with the atomic bomb, you know, he survived the bombing of Nagasaki, and it destroyed everything and killed thousands upon thousands. And all around him was death. All around him was destruction. All around him was darkness. And the conclusion we could arrive at is that darkness wins. You know, it's interesting. One of the people that. That Tekashi Nagai met after the atomic bomb was dropped was an American woman named Helen Keller. We probably all know who Helen Keller was. She again, American young woman born in 1880 in Alabama. For the first year and a half of her lives of her life, about 18, 19 months, she was completely healthy. But then at one point, she might have gotten scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, something. But it took her sight and it took her hearing, and it plunged her into a life of darkness. Helen Keller spent most of her life, her entire life, essentially in darkness. You know, even our friends in the gospel today, we have Mary of Magdala and Peter. We know that Peter, the night he denied Jesus. What happened the night he denied Jesus? He went out into the darkness and he wept. Why? Because it seems like darkness wins. And even as we heard this morning, Mary Magdalene. What did it say? It said that she came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark. She came while it was still dark. Why? Because darkness is real. Then we know the truth. Jesus really died. There's such a thing as real brokenness. And yet it's fascinating. Mary, a Magdalene still came to the tomb, but in the darkness, she still moved. In the darkness, she still acted. Why? Because she got up and she did what she could. That's this key. She got up and she did what she could. And in fact, if we think about it, that's what Peter did, and that's what Helen Keller did, and that's what Takashi Nagai did. They got up and they did what they could. Peter, when he heard that the tomb was empty, he got up, ran to the tomb. We know Helen Keller. Helen Keller because of Ansel Ivan, her teacher. When she was seven years old, Ann Sullivan discovered a way to communicate to Helen Keller that opened up worlds to her. She became the first deaf and blind person to ever graduate from college. She graduated from Radcliffe College. She mastered Latin and German and French. She wrote 14 books. Here is Helen Keller, whose life is darkness. And yet, what did she do? She got up and she did what she could. Even Takashi Nagai, as he was dying and everything around him was destroyed. He wrote and he prayed and he gave people hope even as he was dying. Every one of them, they got up and they did what they could, and they got up in darkness. And this is us. This is us today. This is our lives, right? How many times? How many times are we in darkness? How many times are we struck down? How many times in life are we just confused? How many times in life are we persecuted? How many times in life are we. Are we abandoned? Because the reality is, every one of us showed up today. Here we are, we showed up in some kind of darkness, some kind of secret grief or some kind of hidden pain or some kind of worry or some kind of fear. And yet here we are. We got up in darkness and we did what we could. Death is real and destruction is real, and darkness is real. But are they the only things that are real? Are the only things that are real are destruction and death and darkness? Or is there something more? Tekashi, he wrote that there is more. In fact, he said this. He said the atomic bomb destroyed everything, houses, churches and lives. But it could not destroy what never dies. The faith of our people, the love of God and the promise of eternal life. Yes, there was destruction. Yes, there was darkness. Yes, there was death. But it could not destroy what never dies. Faith of our people, the love of God and the promise of eternal life. What never dies, there is something that does not and that cannot remain in darkness. That's the reason again, the reason why we're here. The reason why Tekashi and Helen and Mary and Peter all got up in darkness and did what they could. Because last night Jesus himself entered into destruction. Because last night Jesus himself entered into death. Because last night Jesus himself entered into darkness. And on this day, Jesus rose from destruction. And on this day, Jesus rose from death. And on this day, Jesus rose from darkness. And he did what he could. Jesus got up in the darkness and he did what he could and declares that destruction and death and darkness do not and cannot have the last word. Jesus, because he conquered death, he made it possible to have faith. So Tekashi, as he laid there dying, he's able to say, but there are some things that never die, like the love of God, have that kind of faith. In the midst of death, in the midst of darkness, Jesus made it possible. You know, after Tegashi met Helen Keller, Helen Keller was so moved by compassion to have compassion. And he was so moved by their meeting and seeing her compassion and seeing what God has done. He wrote this. He wrote this. He said, unless you've suffered and wept, you don't really understand what compassion is, nor can you give comfort to someone who's suffering. If you haven't cried, you can't dry another's eyes. Unless you've walked in darkness, you can't help wanderers find the way. Unless you've looked into the eyes of menacing death and felt its hot breath, you can't help another rise from the dead and taste anew the joy of being alive. Unless you've walked in darkness, you can't help wanderers find the way because of what Jesus had done. Rising from darkness, Helen Keller had that compassion, made it possible for Mary Magdalene to love. What Jesus had done made it possible for Peter to have courage. And what Jesus did made it possible for you and I to say, yes, I'm afflicted. Yeah, I'm confused. Yes, I'm persecuted. Yes, I'm struck down. But it's not all darkness. Because as Jesus, as St. Paul said, yes, we're afflicted, but we're not destroyed. St. Paul said, yes, we are confused, but we're not driven to despair. St. Paul said, yes, we're persecuted, but we're not abandoned. And we are struck down, but we are not destroyed because Jesus is the light and he's entered into darkness. You and I have encountered something that never dies. In fact, you and I have encountered someone that never dies. And the moment you were baptized, you were claimed by him. The moment you were baptized, you were claimed by the one who never dies. When you receive Jesus in the Eucharist, you are fed by the One who never dies. And when you were confirmed, you were strengthened by the one who never dies. You know, last night we had a whole slew of people who were baptized. And those who are baptized in that moment, the moment of the baptism, in this powerful, unique way, God the Father, in the name of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, claimed those people as his children. And their lives will never be the same. That moment was a touch point in their lives. Last night we had a bunch of people come into the church. They received Sacrament of Confirmation, Sacrament of the Eucharist. And that moment is a moment where here is God, the one who never dies, who dies no more, who completely transformed their lives. And they did this in the darkness, in that moment. Last night, for them will be a touch point that God can be found in the darkness. Why? Because God can find you and me in the darkness. And this is the last thing. One of the influential voices, influential thoughts, people in Tekashi Nagai's life was Blaise Pascal, right? Who is this French mathematician and philosopher and scientist and inventor and Catholic. And Blaise Pascal was a man who prayed, right? He was a man who experienced the sacraments. He was baptized, he had been confirmed. He received Holy Communion on a regular basis. Every single Sunday, maybe even during the week. Blaise Pascal would go to Mass. But one night in darkness, everything changed. Because one night in darkness, he had what can only be described as a mystical encounter with Jesus. In fact, he called it the memorial. And he wrote it down. He actually wrote it down, a piece of paper, and he kept it in his breast pocket, in his jacket. And here are the words that he just tried to capture. This moment where he met the someone who never dies. He said this, he wrote in the year of our Lord 16:54, Monday, November 23rd, from about half past ten in the evening to half past twelve. Fire. God of Abraham. God of Isaac. God of Jacob. Not of the philosophers nor of the scholars. Certitude. Certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace. God of Jesus Christ, my God and your God. Thy God shall be my God. Forgetfulness of the world and of everything except God. He is to be found only by the ways taught in the Gospel. Greatness of the soul of man. Righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee. Joy, Joy. Joy. Tears of joy. Jesus Christ. I have fallen away. I have fled from him, denied him, crucified him. May I not fall away forever. We keep hold of him only by the ways taught in the Gospel. Renunciation, Total and sweet, total submission to Jesus Christ and to my spiritual director, eternally in joy for a day's exercise on earth, I will not forget thy word. Amen. Blaise Pascal wrote down, tried to capture that moment, that touch point. And he again kept it in his breast pocket. And every so often, he would just touch it. Every so often, he would just reach to where that memo was written and placed in his pocket and he just touched it. That was a touch point for him and reminded him of, this is the truth, that even in darkness, God is there. Even in darkness, God can find me. Even in darkness, it's possible to get up and do what I can. And this is the thing. For every one of those who came into the church last night, every one of those who were confirmed, they were touched, they were anointed on their foreheads. And every one of them and every one of us who have been confirmed, who have been touched by the Lord, like this, that moment is a touch point moment where if I want to be reminded, I simply have to touch my forehead and remember that this is where I was anointed. This is where I was sealed with the Holy Spirit. This is where God claimed me. And just to reach up and touch that forehead and realize, in destruction, God has done something. In death, God has done something. In darkness, God has done something. He has done something in your life and in my life. So in destruction, in death, in darkness, we can get up and do what we can.