Cardinal Cantalamessa’s fourth Lenten sermon: 'I am the resurrection and the life'

By Sr. Francine-Marie Cooper

In his fourth sermon for the Roman Curia, Cardinal Cantalamessa continued his meditations on the “I Am” sayings of Jesus.

He looked more closely at the word from chapter 11 of John’s Gospel, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

He summarized the teaching of this chapter, saying: “The resurrection of Lazarus causes the death of Jesus; the death of Jesus causes the resurrection of all who believe in Him!”

The Cardinal outlined how Jesus revealed to Martha that the resurrection He was referring to was different from that which she had come to know and understand.

He was not speaking of the resurrection at the end of time, but a resurrection that begins here and now.

Cardinal Cantalamessa explained, “Jesus can say ‘I am the resurrection’ because He is the Risen One!”

The historical fact of the resurrection

He described how many non-believers reproach believers for not being able to be objective, “since faith imposes on them, from the start, the conclusion at which they must arrive.”

He argued that these non-believers actually do the same as they start with the assumption that God does not exist.

And yet, he continued, “no event in antiquity is supported by as many first-hand testimonies as this one. Some of them date back to personalities of the intellectual caliber of Saul of Tarsus who had previously fiercely fought against this belief.”

Having reaffirmed the historical fact of the Resurrection of Christ, the Cardinal then took a look at the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words: “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Living hope

Using the Apostles as an example, Cardinal Cantalamessa pointed out that “hope” was the key component of their experience.

St. Peter starts his first Letter by praising God, who “in His great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pt 1:3–4).

The Cardinal contemplated “what a surge of hope could produce in our spiritual life," comparing us to the cripple who was healed by the apostles and began “jumping and praising God” (Acts 3:1–9).

He continued to explain that the presence of hope changes everything, “even when externally nothing changes.” Hope is an anchor and a sail, he said. It keeps us secure and is a driving force that encourages us to move forward.

Hope where there is no hope

Cardinal Cantalamessa said that tribulation “leads us to hope only in God. It leads to that state of perfection that consists in hoping when there seems to be no hope.”

“Such was Mary’s hope under the cross," he added, and explained that popular “piety is not wrong when it invokes Mary with the title of Mater Spei, mother of hope.”

He reassured his listeners that “God does not promise to remove the reasons for weariness and exhaustion, but he gives hope.” And he continued, “It is really like putting on wings.”

The Cardinal concluded his sermon with the words of the Apostle Paul:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”