On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women came to the tomb.

Come to the tomb.  Jesus stands waiting for you on the other side.  You cannot reach him except through the door of death.  He passed through and took away death's power.  Now it is our turn.

Come to the tomb.  Do not deny its presence or importance, as the world does.  The world denies the tomb, because it stands as a mockery to everything the world believes in: wealth, power, pleasure, gain, esteem, health, vigor, youthfulness.  To all these, the tomb remains a silent, yawning presence which the world fears.

Come to the tomb and so meet Christ.  It is quiet here and you can recollect.  The silence soothes the clamor of our minds and calms the fear of our hearts.  There is truth here, not the world's lies.  Truth about our own mortality, our weakness, our transitoriness.  Here in the tomb there is nothing to hide from, no necessity for illusions.  Here all men are equal.

The tomb is encountered in life each day.  Our failures to love, our inability to pray, the darkness of our hearts where we cling to the corpses of old injuries received, envies, jealousies, idols.  These are common to all men.  What is different is in how we approach them.  When we recognize the dark soil of our heart, do we flee as the world trains us to do, through denial, distraction or despair?  In doing so we flee from the tomb and the possibility of encountering the risen Christ.  But to head into the tomb is to be aware of these failures and evil in our life, accept them then embrace them through forgiveness.

Forgiveness and repentance authenticate our faith.  "If you come to the altar and recall an issue with a brother, go first to him and quickly be reconciled with him."

Embrace the brother who has wronged you or you have wronged.  If this is not possible outwardly, do it in truth inwardly.  This is a real, practical experience of the tomb in our lives.  Therein we meet Christ.

The doctrine of purgatory is an important one.  We cannot enter into the blazing presence of the Godhead until we are made capable.  Until we die.  Yes, the body must die but of real importance is the death of the ego.  If we have not learned it by the time we die, purgatory is the school of forgiveness, love and mercy.  I see it not as passive purification but an active participation in the graces of repentance which were intended for us while alive.  "There is no merit in loving those who love you."  "If I, your Lord, have washed your feet, so much more must you wash each others feet."  "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

The tomb is seen beautifully in the story of Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4.7-26).  "Ask for the water which will become a spring in you gushing up to eternal life."  "Sir, give me this water."  "The man you are living with is not your husband," Jesus replies.  Be reconciled to each other and to God!  Then you will drink from a spring I will cause to gush up out of your heart and which will take you into eternal life.