Greetings on this great feast of Easter.

As Pope Francis reflects: ‘The Easter Triduum is the memorial of a drama of love that gives us the certainty that we will never be abandoned in life’s trials’. Over these past days of the Paschal Triduum, we have journeyed with many emotions. We have experienced fear and courage, betrayal and faithfulness, grief and joy and despair and hope. We have heard the heartbeat of God’s love as we, like John the Beloved, have leant upon the breast of Jesus at the last supper; we have touched the heartache of Peter as he denies the one to whom he has pledged his life; we have experienced the despair of Judas and the cowardice of Pilate and stood faithfully at the Cross with Mary. We have sat in the darkness of the tomb and touched those dark places within as we have grieved with the people of New Zealand and the people of Rwanda celebrating the 25^th anniversary of 100 day genocide in their nation. We have touched into the suffering of Jesus from all corners of the world where war, drought, famine, floods and earthquakes have destroyed homes and livelihoods. From these seeds of hardship new life begins to emerge – new life born of the hope of Easter. We have seen New Zealanders unite as one, embracing difference and standing as one with their brothers and sisters. We have heard stories from Rwanda of forgiveness and reconciliation and we have heard stories of great rejoicing as yet one more person is rescued from the rabble of a natural disaster.

These are the Easter stories of today. Like Mary Magdalene, may the actions of our daily lives proclaim that Jesus is truly alive as we welcome the dawning of a new day, transform our fears into acts of courage, reach out with a hand of hope to a refugee, listen to the story of our first peoples and celebrate the beauty that surrounds us in the gift of creation. In and through these moments, we experience the spirit of that first Easter, rising once again as we proclaim ‘He is risen Alleluia’.

May this Easter be filled with deep peace and joy as we move forward as people of the Resurrection filled with the light of the Easter candle.

Sr Monica Cavanagh rsj
Congregational Leader

Image Sunshine Cross Religion by StockSnap obtained on Pixabay. Used with permission.