CHRIST IS RISEN, ALLELUYA! EASTER 2018
Christ is risen, alleluia. What a joy to wake up on this Sunday as
a community of faith to celebrate the Solemnity of Easter. How
appropriate it is to sing with the psalmist, "This is the day the
Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad." How wonderful to
believe that because of His Resurrection "we too have been
raised with Christ". Today is a new day to start again. Darkness,
pain and suffering have no place in the life of Jesus any longer,
and neither does it in our lives. Easter is the time of light, joy
and peace that are the gifts given by the Risen Jesus. Pope
Francis tells us about the light that comes from Jesus: "Do not
let God's love be reflected only in small flashes of light in our
lives. Let us be flooded by the light of your love! That costs, but
we have the consolation of God who encourages us and invites
us to accept the Risen Jesus with tenderness even when there is
darkness in our lives. When there is more darkness, the greater
shines the light". Easter is our greatest celebration because as the
Book of Acts says, "God raised Jesus on the third day". This
new and unprecedented fact in the life of Jesus, the Apostles and
some chosen witnesses, actually makes our lives now like them
as messengers of a love that is able to surpass even death. We
will renew our baptismal promises today. We´ll pledge to die to
sin that binds us to death and promise that we´ll live as the
brothers and sisters of the Risen Jesus. Today more than ever we
must "seek the things that are above, where Christ is," solidarity
and justice with and for the poor. Let us be aware today, as we
do in every Eucharist, that our faith is in the One who lives
forever. The story of the empty tomb in John's Gospel is more
than a reminder of three possible approaches towards the
Resurrection. Mary Magdalene was afraid and upset, believing
robbers had broken in. Peter, the first to enter the empty tomb,
was observant, but confused. John, the disciple whom Jesus
loved, "saw and believed". In the verses that follow in John's
Gospel, Jesus appears to a distraught Mary Magdalene just
outside the tomb and she believes. Later he also appears to
Peter, as well as the rest of disciples, and asks Peter to “tend my
sheep”. Each comes to faith in the Risen Jesus at different times
and by different means. Let us pray to the Risen Christ to open
our minds so that we can understand when the Gospels say that
"Jesus is risen from the dead." With the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and all witnesses throughout the
centuries, let us “ask for the grace to be glad and to rejoice
intensely because of the great glory and joy of Christ our (Risen)
Lord”
(Spiritual Exercises 221).
HAPPY EASTER - FELICES PASCUAS
Fr. Hernan P., S.J.