Thomas Griffin 4/20/25
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Let Us Begin: New Book on the Life and Power of St. Francis
His grave was empty. Yours will be too.
Catholics believe that the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact. If it did not actually happen, then there is no reason to be a Christian. The grandeur of Easter morning is a reality because the tomb of Jesus was literally found empty on the third day after he was brutally killed. If we do not claim that this is a fact, our entire faith and purpose in life vanishes.
For this reason, Pope St. John Paul II said the following in 1996: “Christ’s resurrection is the strength, the secret of Christianity. It is not a question of mythology or of mere symbolism, but of a concrete event. It is confirmed by sure and convincing proofs. The acceptance of this truth, although the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s grace, rests at the same time on a solid historical base.”
The secret to living a life of true purpose, meaning and vigor relies on the realization that this life is not everything. That does not mean that nothing matters – it means that everything matters. Because every single person that we meet is someone who is going to live forever. This means that the way we carry ourselves, the way we spend our time, and the way we treat others has eternal consequences.
The earliest Christians were known as followers of “the Way” and also “the living ones.” These two descriptions are critical for understanding how we can live within the light that emanates from the empty tomb. Jesus is the one that we follow. He is the way. Following him means that we have a personal relationship with him. Following him means that we are familiar with his teachings and captivated by his actions. It also means that we follow his “way” of humble sacrifice which leads to newness of life.
These early Christians were called “the living ones” because compared to everyone else in society, they seemed to be the only ones who lived with purpose and true joy. They were poor and they were the outcasts. However, they simply lived as if every day was going to be their last.
How were they able to do so? Yes, they knew that connection was the secret to Christianity, but how did they put it into practice each day?
Words from St. Augustine can help answer these questions and give us a path to living like them. He once said that “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
In order to live from the foundation of the resurrection, Augustine tells us that we must realize why this event was so earth shattering. Yes, it broke the bonds of sin. Yes, it defeated death. Yes, the empty tomb definitively proved that Jesus was God. However, like all of the actions and words of Jesus, the resurrection was accomplished for our individual benefit. It communicates, along with the suffering and death of Jesus, that you are personally and radically loved by God.
Jesus had a one on one with Mary Magdalene outside of his empty grave. Today, and every single day of our life, Christ desires to have a one on one with us as well. If the secret to Christianity is the resurrection, then we can discover the power of that secret only through an intense commitment to daily and intimate prayer.
This is what those who followed “the Way,” and those who were called “the living ones” figured out. The resurrection of Jesus as a historical event two thousand years ago is not an event that lives in the past. Each time we accept the invitation from God to quietly sit and pray, we are making contact with the risen and living Jesus. The more we do so, the more his life powerfully flows within us.
All of this occurs when we realize, as Augustine said, that God looks at you and loves you as if you were the only one alive. You were the one on his mind as he walked out of that empty tomb. When you pray today, talk to him as if he is sitting next to you. That truth of the matter is, just like his empty tomb, a fact.
So let the grave remain broken open, and our lives become on fire with his beating heart. Because he is the only one that can make us become fully alive – now, and forever.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine. He is the author of Let Us Begin: Saint Francis’s Way of Becoming Like Christ and Renewing the World.
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