Live in Hope
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Happy Easter! Today we celebrate our Lord’s victory over sin and death. The Church sings “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!” Christ’s cross opened for us the great font of mercy and His resurrection triumphed over Satan’s greatest evil weapon, bodily death. Jesus, the firstborn of the dead, has taken away death’s eternal sting. What was once a meaningless and final end, has now become, by God’s immense grace, a portal to the greatest of all gifts, eternal life in God. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, our worst fear has become, because of that first Easter, an opportunity for the greatest of all joys.
This past week we recalled the painful events that took place before that first Easter, the tragedy of sin and betrayal, the agony of suffering and the gloom of death. Good Friday marked the darkest day in man’s history, when humanity put to death the Son of God. The Incarnate Word of God became, like a lamb led to the slaughter, a sacrificial offering on behalf of all of humanity. For those who knew and loved Jesus, it was a profoundly tragic day.
But God’s love is far greater than our apathy; his mercy immensely greater than our sins. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The sadness of Good Friday gives way to the glorious joy of Easter. The Church expresses her joy and hope in the power of the resurrection in the words of the Easter Proclamation chanted at the Easter Vigil Mass.
This is the night,
when Christ broke the prison-bars of death
and rose victorious from the underworld.
Our birth would have been no gain,
had we not been redeemed.
O wonder of your humble care for us!
O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!
O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!
O happy fault
that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!
There are days, weeks and sometimes even months or years that might feel like Good Friday. But we live in hope, because we know that the Resurrection follows the Cross and after every Good Friday comes the joy that Easter promises.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
