PODCAST | Easter: True Witnesses of Christ
In this meditation for Easter Sunday, Fr. Javier del Castillo invites us to contemplate the Resurrection of Christ and how the Resurrection is an event that can only be accessed by people of faith who have had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.
Why is the Resurrection such a mysterious event that is not public, but is only accessed through a personal encounter with Our Lord? Because, as Fr. Javier explains, God preordained that the news of his Resurrection be spread through witnesses that had the credentials of having seen, heard, and touched Our Lord. This is the nature of a witness. Jesus appeared to the apostles, so that they could spread the great news of the Resurrection.
Our personal encounter with Jesus today comes from meeting him in our baptism, in holy communion, and in confession. The sacraments make him present here and now. Thanks to the priesthood, we have Jesus Christ present in the Church so that every generation can have the same encounter that the Apostles had. Therefore, as Christians, we are sharers in the great light of the Resurrection, which is the love of Christ that is alive today and that can enlighten all of humanity.
Rev. Javier del Castillo
Fr. Javier del Castillo is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and currently serves as President of the St. Josemaria Institute. He earned a degree in electronic engineering and moved to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, where he was ordained a priest in 2005 and earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 2007. He worked as a chaplain in high schools in the Washington, D.C. and Chicago areas for several years, offering spiritual accompaniment to students, parents, and teachers. From 2015 on, he served as the vicar of Opus Dei in the midwest; he was appointed regional vicar of the United States in 2022. He became vicar of the United States and Canada in 2024, following the restructuring of the regions, until his appointment as Vicar General in April 2025.
