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Fr. John’s Easter Message

Easter is a celebration of the unexpected.

The resurrection of Christ means that death is not the end for us, just as it was not the end for Jesus Christ. But this victory over sin and death came about in a most unexpected way.

At the time of Jesus’ death on the cross it appeared to everyone that all his suffering and even his three year ministry of preaching and miracles had been in vain — Jesus had paid the price of death for his good work --- and for all his care and love for the people, he was given only rejection and suffering in return.

But God raised Jesus from the dead, as the Gospels tell us. And by this act, God dramatically affirms the value of all that Jesus said and did, and demonstrates to the world that total self-giving love is never given in vain.

In the Easter gospel we hear how Mary Magdalene came to Jesus’ tomb and saw that the heavy stone had been rolled back. Imagine her surprise at this unexpected change of events! She immediately goes and tells Peter and the beloved disciple, John, who hurry to the tomb. When they enter the tomb they see for themselves that Jesus’ body is gone. When the beloved disciple saw the arrangement of the linens that had covered the body, scripture states that he saw and knew that Jesus had risen.

Mary Magdalene later is standing outside the tomb and Jesus appears to her. She then boldly announces to the apostles, “I have seen the Lord”, the first public announcement that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead.

Jesus’ death was not an end at all, but rather a beginning! How surprising! These are the first statements of faith regarding resurrection of Jesus — and the church for 2000 years has never ceased to proclaim this fact to the world.

During the Easter Masses we will renew our baptismal promises. This action offers us the opportunity to deepen our commitment as followers of Jesus Christ, and to proclaim publicly that we also believe that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and miraculously rose from the dead.

It was through the sacrament of baptism that we first entered into the church and began our spiritual journey. At the time of our baptism, God planted in each one of us a seed, which is our faith. Like any seed, this "seed of faith" needs to be nourished in order to grow and be strong. Every day we are asked by God to renew our commitment to him, and each day we are asked to strive to become a little more holy in all that we do.

Let us therefore rejoice! May Easter be a time of great blessing for you and all the families of St. Bernard parish! May we be open to the unexpected in our lives and resolve to strive to live out our baptismal promises to the best of our ability, by rejecting sin and selfishness, and growing daily in faith, hope and charity.