But to the point:  What's different? Despite the stir caused in and around Jerusalem when the body of Jesus could not be found, most of the Roman Empire - and indeed most of the world , chugged along as usual, and the Church was decades away from making a significant impact except among a few.

If you read my column last week, you got an answer to this question in the form of a very eloquent sermon from a 2nd century bishop, who proclaimed Christ's destruction of the power of sin, death and the devil. He certainly believed this with unshakable faith, for he was tortured and martyred for his faith, but one can certainly imagine his bemused and puzzled torturers asking "Oh yeah, then why is your Christ letting us do this to you?"  From an empirical perspective, the claim that the Resurrection changes everything is absurd; one need only open one's eyes to notice that the world as a whole is as evil and miserable a place as it has always been.

But Jesus never claimed that "normal" human life and the "normal" course of world events would be different. He said "My Kingdom is not of this world" and "The Kingdom of God is within you" and "My Father and I will make our homes within you" and "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you", and that an unexpected hour He would return to bring an end to human history, judge the living and the dead, and then and only then would the Kingdom be perfectly fulfilled. The evidence of the Resurrection's changing everything is the fact, pure and simple, that there are saints, people who glow with God's holiness, and that those of us on our way to becoming saints can point to at least some progress in faith, hope and love as we persevere in repentance. So let's keep after it!

I'll close with a quote suitable to the spring season we are enjoying:

The fruits of the earth are not brought to perfection immediately, but by time, rain and care; similarly, the fruits of holiness ripen through prayer and ascetic practice [self-emptying, so that God can fill us with Himself], study, time, perseverance, self-control and patience. - St. Anthony the Great

Or, if you are feeling particularly lazy or self-satisfied this week, here's the same truth expressed more bluntly: