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FATHER MODERATOR'S EASTER MESSAGE 2018

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

Wishing you the Peace of EASTER!

For the last six weeks, we have meditated on Jesus’ passion and death with prayer, fasting and almsgiving. But today, we rejoice with the whole Church in the Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

The Catechism says that the resurrection is the crowning  truth of our faith in Christ. Hence, we constantly need to refresh our understanding of this great mystery of faith. The resurrection has always been held as the central truth in the first christian communities until now. In fact, it has been handed on as fundamentals by the tradition of the church established by the New Testament and preached as an essential part of Christs’ Paschal mystery.

We can say that the resurrection is both an historical and a transcendent event and absolutely a work of the Holy Trinity. Let us be clear that the resurrection is a real event. Although there was an attempt to pass it on as a “FAKE NEWS” but, it did not succeed. The resurrection is real news. It is Good News. The manifestations of the  risen Lord are historically established as the  New Testament testifies. In fact, about the year 56 AD, the apostle Paul has already written to the Corinthians about it. There are many elements in the resurrection worth mentioning. The first one is the empty tomb that is considered as an essential sign to all. Its discovery by the disciples according to the Catechism was the first step in recognising the truth about the resurrection. The disciple whom Jesus loved affirmed the mystery when he saw and believed. This leads us to the realisation that the absence of Jesus’ body could not have been of human doing. Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as in the case of Lazarus.

Aside from the empty tomb and the linen cloth lying there, the risen Christ had many apparitions as  attested to by his disciples. The first to encounter him was Mary Magdalen and the other holy women who became the first messengers of the Good News of the resurrection. Then he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve  and the Catechism says they remain the foundation stones of his Church (CCC # 642). But they are not the only people who encountered the risen one. Paul has spoken Clearly of more than five hundred persons to whom he appeared on a single occasion (1 Cor 15:6). Thus, the resurrection with all the testimonies written in the Scriptures and those handed on in the tradition is certainly a historical fact.

The resurrection is an object of faith. It is a transcendent intervention of God Himself in creation and in history. In the resurrection, the three persons of the Holy Trinity act together as one. The Father’s power raised up Jesus His Son and He is revealed as Son of God according to the Spirit.

I hope we always bear in mind the following: a)The resurrection is the summit of all Christ’s teachings and ministry in fulfilment of the scriptures; (b) The resurrection is the confirmation of Jesus’ divinity and the avenue to a new life in God; (c) The resurrection brings about filial adoption that we may share in Him and become His brethren; (d) and the principle and source of our future resurrection. Jesus died for us. He rose from the dead for us. During this easter season let us live the life of Christ. Let us rise with him from the tombs of our sin and misery. Christ lives in us. Let us be messengers of the Resurrection by living a simple an authentic life.

Pope John Paul II said and I quote: “The acceptance of this truth although lies in the fruit of the Holy Spirit's grace, rests at the same time on a solid historical base. On the threshold of the third millennium, the new effort of evangelization can begin only from a renewed experience of this Mystery, accepted in faith and witnessed to in life.” 

May we live the fruit of Jesus’ Resurrection by being a people of hope, a people of Good News!

Happy Easter to everyone! 


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