Easter’s Promise – New Hope, New Life
On the first Easter morning, the disciples were locked in for fear of the Jews. They had lost their master, their leader and their Lord. There was a lot of anxiety, uncertainness and darkness. As a band of Jesus’ disciples, they had no hope of continuing as one group. When they were in this darkest situation of their life, they received a message from a woman assuring them that, as Jesus had promised, ‘He is Risen’ and ‘He will meet them in Galilee’. We know the rest of the story: week after week, until the Pentecost, Jesus appeared to them even when they were locked in – he passed through the locked doors.
The situation in which we live today is not that bright or helpful. We are facing the terror of worldwide wars, hitting hard recession with economies collapsing, commodity prices rising day by day along with the rise of unhealthy consumption, moral and spiritual degradation everywhere, and further breaking off our families into more fragments. Lent and Easter – the passion, death and resurrection of Christ – brings hope for believing Christians, for they know that the God who raised Jesus will raise us all from our lowly situations.
Easter brings us new hope and new life. Jesus is risen, He is alive, and He is with us. This message is the basis of every mystery. We are the people of the resurrection and nothing can hold our spirit down.
I want to wish all my parishioners and friends a joyful Feast of Easter. Let us celebrate our Easter, sharing our joy, love and hope with each other, praying to God to bless our daily life.
I wish you all abundant blessings from the Risen Christ.
–Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD