EASTER CROWDS

There is a noteworthy contrast between the exuberance of the crowds as Christ entered Jerusalem with his disciples on Palm Sunday and the dwindling of those crowds on Good Friday to the point to where only a few souls stand beneath the Cross. Jesus had warned His disciples at the Last Supper, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’” (Matthew 26:31). And so it happened. Except for John, all the Apostles fled the Passion and even John locked himself with the others into the upper room, like a hideout.

From a merely exterior perspective, Christ’s mission to gather the nations was a failure: the Twelve had become the Eleven, and even those who did remain were demoralized. Even the broader circle of Jesus’ disciples, such as Cleopas and the nameless one walking along the road to Emmaus, are despondent and dispirited. Even when Jesus walks with them they do not recognize Him. Their hearts are weighed down as they reflect on the events of their lives which have recently taken place, with the Lord seemingly absent from those events. Ironically, He is present to them: to those disciples and in those events, which they will come to recognize in the Breaking of the Bread. Looking back retrospectively on their encounter on the road, they are revivified and their hearts burn within them. In this state they run back to Jerusalem to the apostles and share their experience of the Risen Christ.

St. Faustina’s prayer is on point here: “Eternal God…look kindly upon us… that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to your holy will...” (Diary, 950).

It is an amazing phenomenon that only after the Resurrection do crowds begin to return to following Christ: a trickle at first, but increasingly to the point to which Peter baptizes 3,000 in one fell swoop after the preaching we hear in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. The Resurrection makes all the difference; it is the source of the Church’s power to “fish” for souls.

And yet, as there is a stark contrast between the presence of the crowds on Palm Sunday and their absence on Good Friday, so there is a marked contrast in the Church between the crowds who come to Mass on Easter and those who stick with Him throughout the year. Statistically, even some of those who entered the Church with gusto at the Easter Vigil throughout the world will sadly fall away, losing interest or petering out in fervor.

Let’s remember the fact that crowds in the Gospels—as in our current day—are not necessary a good sign; numbers mean very little ultimately about depth of adherence or purity of conviction. The Church’s fidelity to our Savior must always go beyond the fair-weather crowd mentality that can change on a whim or when the going gets tough.

There is a saying about Rome that the crowds begin to arrive after Easter. I can attest to this as a fact: the crowds are coming and soon, our pilgrims from Holy Cross parish will arrive to join them—our group of nearly forty departs on April 27th. I know that our hearts will be inflamed along our pilgrim way and we promise our prayers for all of you.

Let us stand with the Lord not merely because a crowd may be gathered around Him, but because He makes Himself known to us in the Breaking of the Bread and in the Preaching of Peter.

~Fr. Howe