“There is no need to be afraid. He is not here, for He has risen from the dead.” Matthew 28: 1-10
“Christ, risen and glorified, is the wellspring of all our hope.” Pope Francis EG 275
Christ is Risen ! Alleluia !
This was a night of vigil for the disciples of Jesus, a night of sadness and fear for they remained locked in the upper room. Yet, the women went to the tomb at dawn to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Having been present at the crucifixion and despite great sorrow they did not stop loving and caring by their presence just as many women and men today are caring for the sick and dying during the pandemic. On entering the tomb the angel says words of life to them “Do not be afraid. He is not here; for He has risen.” And then, filled with awe and great joy they meet Jesus who tells them “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; there they will see me.” This is the message of hope that is addressed to us today. We are called and sent to be witnesses for
Christ’s resurrection is not an event of the past;
it contains a vital power which permeates this world.
Such is the power of the resurrection
that it rises transformed through the storms of history
Pope Francis EG 276
Searching for Jesus’ body, Mary Magdalene bent down to look into the tomb and did not recognise Him, thinking Him to be the gardener. It is when Jesus calls her by name “Mary” that her life changes and she becomes an Apostle of Hope, immediately running to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord. We too are called by name. This is our challenge, this is our call today to be courageous witnesses.
Reflect on how your life is a witness to the
Good News of the Resurrection.
Each new day let us allow ourselves to
be transformed by the Resurrection!
Apostles of Hope
Our life as Christians today takes its meaning from the joyful celebration of Easter with the triumphant “Alleluia” as a sign of our joy and hope in the Risen Christ living in our midst. I John I:3 tells of the disciples “speaking of what we have seen and heard” despite their initial disbelief in the women and their hopes being destroyed. However, once they met Jesus and recognised Him as their Risen Lord their lives were changed as was Mary’s when “she had seen the Lord”.
We are an Easter people! Is this reflected in the way I live my life?
Christ’s resurrection changes us and challenges us to be Apostles of Hope by “speaking of all we have seen and heard” but above all by a life transformed by Christ’s Risen presence. I am a mission on this earth!
From the silence of the ground,
From the stillness of the soil,
New life breaks forth, death defeated.
The stone is rolled away.
An empty tomb and fullness of life.
O blessed night that knows no evening.
Sun now shines, never to set.
‘I am alive, I am with you.’
Now go out to the whole world,
Proclaim the Good News!
Gemma Simmonds
A Woman of Hope and Compassion
When we look back on the life of Marie Louise in the context of her times, we see her as a Woman of Hope, who, from a very young age, placed her hope in God alone. She “accepted the circumstances of her life as the paschal journey that leads to the Resurrection”. (RL 55) Her life over the years was full of uncertainty and suffering and yet she continued to live by hope for the rest of her life “with determination, creativity and fidelity” (RL Appendix p5) as she established a “seedbed of Daughters of Wisdom” (Besnard, Marie Louise p 83) whose mission was the compassionate service of those most in need. “Yes, if I were material I would give myself to clothe the poor.”
The Last Alleluia
A short time before her death Marie Louise was heard to murmur continuously “Alleluia, alleluia!” and was asked what the word “Alleluia” meant. She replied “It means, let us rejoice in God.”
For us, just as for Marie Louise, “Alleluia” is a sign of our joy in the Risen Christ who lives in our midst today: we are called to express Easter joy and hope by our whole life. As Pope John Paul II said, “If we are silent about the joy and hope which comes from the Risen Christ, the very stones of our cities will cry out! For we are an Easter people and ‘Alleluia’ is our song.”
Image source Pixabay
