The event of the empty tomb is a reality that none of the disciples could forget. Nothing can beat the mixed feeling of fear and doubt that gives way to unquantifiable joy as they gradually realized what had happened.
Christ is risen! Now the Holy Week event is over: the hard moments of the Triduum give way to the joy of Easter. The darkness of death gives way to the light of the Resurrection. Our Savior is alive! Throughout Lent and Holy Week, we have been preparing for today through our penance and spiritual exercises. Today’s great celebration is the centre of the whole liturgical year from which all other feasts take their meaning. If the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ were not true, then all our acts of worship and all our prayers would indeed be empty, and worst of all, we would still be in our sins. Thanks be to God, Christ has truly risen from the dead.
Holy Week may be over, but a new reality begins with the paschal event: we must live the new life in Christ every day. Every precious moment of our lives should be used to proclaim that we too are partakers in the joy of the Resurrection.
In the coming days, we will go deeper and deeper into the realization of the Paschal event as we reflect on the life of the Apostles in the early days of the Church. Let us follow in their footsteps and draw ever closer to our Risen Lord as we carry his joy with us wherever we go.
Today some of our children shall receive Holy Communion for the very first time. It is a very special time for them because it marks a significant growth in their lives as Christians. Like us, they now have easy access to food for the soul. Like us, they too shall be strengthened to continue in their journey through life as Christians. Like us, they shall be strengthened to resist temptation and thus grow in the life of grace. Let us encourage them to follow in the footsteps of Christ and see His resurrection as a sure sign that what we do here and the way we live as Christians is very meaningful because it is our ticket to eternal life.
May the Body and Blood of Christ that we receive bring us to everlasting life. Amen.