My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Before celebrating the sacraments of confirmation and first holy Communion, I always meet with the candidates before Mass to explain the religious symbols we use and answer any questions they might have. At one of these recent question and answer sessions, a third-grader asked me what my favorite feast day was. I said my favorite feast day is Easter. I explained that, while Christmas is a joyful time to celebrate God taking on our human nature in the flesh, the greatness of that mystery takes on even greater significance by virtue of Christ rising from the dead, which we celebrate on Easter Sunday and throughout the Easter season. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead that gives us the essence of our identity as Christians. St. Paul wrote that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

Another child asked me why God created the Devil. I answered that God did not create devils. God created angels, but some of them rejected God, making themselves into devils. Just as God created human beings with intellect and free will, God also created angels with intellect and free will. The main difference between humans and angels is that human beings have physical bodies, while angels are spiritual beings. But God gave both angels and humans the freedom to choose between good and evil. God loves us and wants us to love Him in return, but He wants our love to be given freely. If we were forced to love God, it really would not be love at all.

The Devil is also called Lucifer or Satan in the Bible. The name Lucifer means “Light-Bearer.” In Christian tradition, Lucifer is the name of the principal fallen angel who must lament the loss of his original glory bright as the morning star. The name Satan is derived from a Hebrew word that means “adversary.” The name Devil comes from the Greek Diabolos, which means “accuser” or “slanderer” or “divider.” His followers in evil are known as devils, demons, or evil spirits. The Devil originally divided the angels and subsequently with the help of his minions or followers seeks to divide humans from God and from each other.

In the last line of the Nicene Creed we profess, “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.” The phrase “resurrection of the dead” refers here not to Jesus, but to all of us. Jesus tells His disciples very clearly that “the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29).

Thus, there is a crucial connection between the resurrection of the dead and the exercise of our free will to choose between good and evil, love and hate. We must live doing good with the help of God’s grace if we wish to be raised up to eternal life in God’s Kingdom, while refraining from doing wicked deeds so as to avoid eternal damnation.

In his sermon on contemplating the passion of Our Lord, Pope St. Leo the Great wrote, “True reverence for the Lord’s passion means fixing the eyes of our heart on Jesus crucified and recognizing in him our own humanity The earth — our earthly nature — should tremble at the suffering of its Redeemer. The rocks — the hearts of unbelievers — should burst asunder. The dead, imprisoned in the tombs of their mortality, should come forth, the massive stones now ripped apart. Foreshadowings of the future resurrection should appear in the holy city, the Church of God: what is to happen to our bodies should now take place in our hearts. No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. … The body that lay lifeless in the tomb is ours. The body that rose again on the third day is ours. The body that ascended above all the heights of heaven to the right hand of the Father’s glory is ours. If then we walk in the way of His commandments, and are not ashamed to acknowledge the price He paid for our salvation in a lowly body, we too are to rise to share his glory. The promise he made will be fulfilled in the sight of all.” May God give us this grace. Amen.