Easter Sunday Homily
The Keys of Heaven and Hell
Fr. Brian Larkin
Gary Larson
“Sometimes we laugh and joke about things that are too serious for us to engage.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Today is about heaven and hell. And today especially, today is the day of unbelievable joy. Today is the day that changes everything. You should walk out of church today with a joy that you can’t even put into words.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Heaven is real. And I wish it weren’t, but hell is also real. And sometimes we don’t quite understand how to engage that reality, and so it’s easier to laugh at it.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Reason has words, but only the lover sings.”—St. Augustine
“To understand heaven and to understand how powerful today is, we have to understand what happened yesterday, on Holy Saturday.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
Revelation 1:18
St. John is in heaven, and he has this vision of Jesus. He falls down at the feet of the Risen Christ, and Christ says, “Fear not. I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
“If anything should give you joy hope and life, it’s this.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“In this life, all of us at different moments, experience some horrific fruits of that infernal place.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Each one of us have moments where we feel we are not loved. We have relationships that end. We have the Evil One say to our hearts, ‘You are worthless.’”—Fr. Brian Larkin
There are terrible things that Satan has wrought in this world.
The gates of hell are locked from the inside. —C.S. Lewis
If we lock that gate, we keep God out.
“There are people in our world and in eternity who have locked themselves against God. And Jesus Christ holds the keys of death and of hell itself, and there is nothing greater than that.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“The sufferings of Jesus are not primarily physical, they are spiritual. And as Jesus bears the consequence for our sins, he goes to the depths.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
Icon of the Resurrection: Jesus has the keys of death and of hell. Christ is reaching out his hands and pulling two people out of their tombs. Those two people are Adam and Eve. Underneath him are a thousand keys lying on the ground. This was inspired by Revelation 1:18
Brothers and Sisters, every one of us are putting forth a great look, but many of us in this church today have locked ourselves into prison. Jesus has the key to your prison.
“His love that went to the depths has broken every bar, unlocked every chain, and can free every one of us for eternity. What amazing news!”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Get on your knees today and ask Jesus to free you from this prison.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“When you taste this, Sunday Mass is not a day of obligation. Sunday is the day of our freedom.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Brothers and Sisters, our work is just getting started here at Lourdes. When you taste the goodness of Christ and his victory, the only proper response is for us to go out there and bring the good news to those who are in chains.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Today is not just any day. Today is the day the Lord has made. Today is the day of our eternal joy.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“After Peter and St. John run to the tomb, they will spend the rest of their lives running out to the world to bring freedom to prisoners.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Today is not just any day. Today is the day the Lord has made. Today is the day of our eternal joy.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
“Jesus, renew our faith and our hope and our love. Bring life to those in death. You, who has conquered Satan and his Kingdom. We pray for anyone who has locked themselves in prison. Anyone whose sin has overpowered them. Jesus, You are the first and the last. You died, and behold, you live forevermore. Jesus, you have the keys of death and the keys of hell.”—Fr. Brian Larkin
