CHARLOTTE — Easter confronts everyone with one single, unavoidable choice: Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead? Choosing “yes” demands an all-in commitment to transform one’s life by the choices we make every day to be His disciples.
That was the challenge Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., presented to congregants at the Easter Vigil April 4 at St. Patrick Cathedral, the first of three Easter Masses he celebrated. The other two were offered Sunday morning at St. Matthew Parish’s south campus in Waxhaw and a Spanish Mass on Sunday afternoon at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte.
The Easter Vigil liturgy began with the blessing of the Paschal fire and lighting of the Paschal candle at the Marian grotto outside the historic cathedral. A sudden rainstorm canceled the traditional candlelight procession into the church, but it did not dampen the spirits of the approximately 300 people who filled the cathedral to hear the ancient words of the Exultet (Easter Proclamation) announcing Christ’s victory over darkness and sin, chanted by the parish’s Deacon Brian McNulty.
During the Mass, the bishop also welcomed seven people into the Church. Although numbers from all the churches were not yet reported, Diocese of Charlotte leaders anticipated that the number would be close to or surpass the 1,743 who joined the Church in 2025.
In his homily, Bishop Martin said Jesus’s resurrection challenges us with choices.
“Do we believe that Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be the Son of God and was brutally beaten and crucified … did He rise from the dead?” he asked.
There are “no halfway responses to this question,” he said. “You need to be all in or all out. There is no other choice.”
“For many of us here tonight, we think we’ve made the choice already. After all, we’re here in church celebrating the Resurrection,” he continued. “But the person who has answered this question honestly about the Resurrection of Jesus finds themselves with more questions and more choices that seem to get harder and harder.
“Jesus’ resurrection seems to continue to knock on the doors of deeper and deeper areas of our lives where we have failed to allow our initial decision to believe in the resurrection of Jesus to take control, to have a real effect.”
He challenged the congregation: “What area of your life remains a tomb waiting for resurrection? What aspect of your life, what relationship have you chosen not to allow the resurrection of Jesus to transform? Where are you still trying to do it on your own and believing that your choices are better?”
People who choose Jesus must also choose not only to believe in Him, but to follow Him – making the choice every day to be His disciples, the bishop said.
Referring to the pastoral vision he presented to the people of the diocese in January, Bishop Martin said, “Easter forces us to make a decision … we can no longer live the rest of our lives as fans who only cheer from the pews, offer prayers for our team and sing songs on Sundays. Rather, Jesus invites us to be players who make the choice daily to carry the cross with Him in every area of our life.”
“Make that choice tonight, over and over again,” he encouraged the congregation. “Make that choice tomorrow, over and over again. And the next day, and the day after that.
“Those are the only choices that will ever satisfy our deepest longings. Happy Easter.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle. Photos by Troy Hull and Liz Chandler.
The Easter Vigil at St. Patrick Cathedral
Scenes from the Easter across the diocese
From Easter basket blessings under sunny skies to the lighting of the Paschal fire in the evening, churches across the diocese celebrated the joy of Christ's Resurrection:
— Lisa M. Geraci, MaryAnne Luedtke, Toni Rohrbach, Sergio Lopez and provided
Easter Morning at St. Matthew Church's Waxhaw campus
WAXHAW — At 9:30 a.m. Bishop Michael Martin celebrated Easter Mass for a packed congregation at St. Matthew’s Waxhaw campus. People braved cloudy skies and rain to pack into the church for the liturgy, which featured beautiful hymns and instrumental music from the church choir.
It was Bishop Martin’s first visit to the Waxhaw campus, an occasion he acknowledged in his greeting and that was marked by a parish family presenting him with a bouquet of flowers.
Bishop Martin’s homily echoed his message from the Easter Vigil the night before, telling congregants that Easter morning presented them with one crucial thing: a choice.
A choice, he said, which is just one of countless ones facing people in today’s world.
“If there’s one thing that has changed dramatically over the years, it would have to be the number of choices that we have,” he said. “If you don’t think that’s true, 50 years ago the average supermarket was 10,000 square feet. Today the average supermarket is 40,000 square feet … how many different kinds of ranch dressing do we need?”
Easter morning offers Catholics the most important choice of all, he said: “Either you choose to believe that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead or you choose to believe that he didn’t – Jesus requires a decision.”
Making the choice to believe, he said, offers the faithful a further choice.
He used a sports metaphor: whether to act as a “player” or a “fan” when it comes to faith. Do you act as a “fan” – showing up on Sunday to worship and displaying the appropriate memorabilia at home – or do you go into the fray as a “player” willing to share the evidence of Christ’s resurrection and the fullness of the faith to all you meet?
“Let His resurrected power get into the cracks and crevices of your life,” Bishop Martin said.
His words inspired the youngest in the congregation.
At one point in the homily, Bishop Martin asked the crowd “Who here is a fan of Jesus?”
From the first few rows came a small boy’s voice: “YES!”
The bishop smiled and responded “Way to go! That’s it … homily over.”
After the Mass, people filed out to greet the bishop and were met by youth from the parish and someone in a bright Easter Bunny outfit, offering a welcome splash of spring color against the cloudy skies and drizzle. The youth held buckets of elastic bracelets bearing the message of the morning: “He is not here; He is risen! (Luke 24:6)
Chris Day of Waxhaw hurried to help his wife Jenn and five children into the family minivan but stopped to reflect on the Mass.
“I thought it was beautiful,” he said. “I liked the fact of the bishop emphasizing the importance of choosing to believe in Christ’s resurrection and message. It’s important to remember that.”
--Christina Lee Knauss