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Easter blessings
We continue living our Easter faith
Published March 21, 2008
My Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:
May the joy, peace and saving mercy of the Risen Lord Jesus bless you and your families!
Our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the very core of our identity as Christians; as St. Paul says in I Corinthians, without Christ’s Resurrection, there would be no reason for Christianity and our lives would be devoid of hope. But praise be God, our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed been raised from the dead and His victory gives us confidence and strength, meaning and direction for the challenges of our life in this world.
Easter: A manifold mystery
Our Easter faith is a very profound mystery and cannot easily be explained or summarized; we need to examine it and explain it from many different perspectives. In the course of our life journey, each of us has undoubtedly come to appreciate ever-new aspects of the manifold gift and mystery of Easter faith.
When we were young, with child-like simplicity, innocence and spontaneity, we could easily see a connection between Resurrection and the rebirth of nature, the blooming of flowers and the joys of springtime. As we studied our faith, we began to understand that the Resurrection was much more profound – something entirely unique in human history – namely, that Jesus, the Son of the Father who had died on the Cross, was raised from the dead on the third day. Coming to that awareness, we began to appreciate the fact that to share in Christ’s Resurrection, we must also go through the process of dying with Him, like Him and for Him – what we call the Paschal Mystery. We experience this gift of salvation through the waters of baptism and in the celebration of the sacred sacrificial meal He left behind, the holy Eucharist.
Easter and the Communion of Saints
For many of us, Easter faith, therefore, rightly and appropriately, focuses on the call to conversion and the process of preparing and welcoming those who join our Church through the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. For some of us who have experienced the loss of significant loved ones in our lives, the Easter mystery takes on yet another dimension: celebrating Christ’s Resurrection gives us hope and assurance, comfort and new hope with regard to our own departed loved ones. The Resurrection of Christ is also a challenge for us to try to live, already here and now, the gifts of the world to come.
As we celebrate Easter 2008, in light of all of the above, I congratulate and welcome all those who have received the Easter sacraments and are now joined, in full communion, with the Roman Catholic Church. I want to acknowledge their commitment of time and the courage it took to make this decision, to study the faith and commit their lives to the Lord and His Church. I would also like to publicly affirm the important ministry of all those who are involved in working with the RCIA process in our parishes.
Secondly, on a personal note, Easter this year takes on a special meaning as my family continues to mourn the recent loss of my mother, Sophie, who died at 99 years of age on Jan. 30. While death is never easy for anyone, hers was a peaceful and inspiring transition into the hands of God: We were praying the rosary with her and for her and had just reached the second Glorious Mystery, the Ascension, as she ceased breathing. More than ever, I understand and appreciate the way Christ’s Resurrection draws us into the Communion of Saints and allows us to share already in this world a foreshadowing of the fullness of what we will enjoy with the Lord and each other forever. We also celebrate the gift and mystery of risen life and the Communion of Saints every time we gather at the Lord’s altar for the Holy Eucharist.
Our Easter faith does not solve every problem this side of heaven. Life goes on with its usual demands and challenges, frustrations and burdens. Yet the hope of resurrection and the process of our Lenten journey and Holy Week invigorate us with new energy, confidence and serenity. As Christ was raised from the dead, we can trust in His power at work even in human weakness and failure; the Risen Lord is always ready to forgive and to heal, to draw us closer to Him and to one another – as long as our hearts are open to this gift, this mystery, this new way of thinking and acting. In a sense, we could say that faith in the Resurrection also includes a deep hope in the power of the Lord continuing to change our own hearts and minds and those of all sinners, to be open to His grace.
Easter, the beginning of a new chapter
Liturgically and theologically, it is also important for us to remember that Easter is the “high point” of a process that stretches from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost. We have 40 days of preparation for Easter and then 50 days of celebrating this great mystery. Easter itself is the peak of this whole 90-day period, a journey of conversion and renewal for us individually and collectively. As we celebrate Easter, therefore, we are not at the end of the story but, rather, we are ready to begin a new chapter. And so it is that for the newly-baptized and received, we have the season of mystagogia, that is, the study of the mysteries that we have received, a time of continuing spiritual growth and reflection. Some theologians would say that all Christians are in a state of mystagogia, or ongoing faith formation, until the day we meet the Lord.
Our journey continues onward to Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples and transformed their fearful minds and hearts, making them apostles capable of preaching the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. During these Easter days, let us continue to rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ and His return to the life He had always enjoyed with the Father, even as we watch and wait for the completion of the Easter mystery with the gift of the Holy Spirit. May we continue to find ever-new depth, meaning, joy and hope from the Easter mystery of Christ’s Resurrection from the dead. Amen. Alleluia.
Sincerely yours in the Lord,
†Adam Cardinal Maida
Archbishop of Detroit
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