By Bishop Alberto Rojas
Dear friends, Happy Easter to you and your families! We have gone through the 40 days of Lent putting more emphasis on prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We were committed to keeping our resolutions with the hope of obtaining new life in the Risen Lord Jesus. Our faith in the Risen Christ is essential for this life and for the one to come. The Resurrection of Jesus is the source of our Christian Faith because it proved that Christ Jesus is God. Thus, while we continue to move forward through the struggles and challenges of our life-journeys, I pray and hope that you are experiencing something new this Easter, because as people of faith we are also pilgrims of Hope.
Let us remember the words of Saint Paul about the importance of our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; and your Faith is in vain… And if Christ has not been raised, then your Faith is a delusion, and you are still lost in your sins… But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (I Cor 15:14, 17, 20). These words invite us to renew our faith and hope in the Risen Lord, to celebrate our sacraments with reverence, beauty and Joy, knowing that the Lord continues to come in each of them to refresh us and help us to remain in his love.
Easter is the fruit of God’s love for us and for the world if we really want to know what life is all about; it reminds us that life is worth living; this is truly our feast of victory! With the Resurrection of Jesus every person of faith gets a second chance. We are always given the opportunity to accept the Risen Christ in our lives as our Lord and Savior. Even in the midst of difficulties, weaknesses and disappointments, division and polarization, there is always hope in our Risen Lord Jesus. He really wants to heal us and restore us to his friendship. But we need to surrender our lives to his, because we are never in control, his Love is! Much like the phoenix bird, every day we are invited to get up from the ashes of sin. Then, refreshed and renewed by the forgiveness of his divine mercy, we may be able to experience the fruits of new life in the Living Lord.
Easter is the fruit of God’s love, always about good news and new life even if sometimes it is also painful because it does involve dying; we are always called to die to sin in order to welcome the new life of grace. But we don’t do this alone, Jesus is always willing to walk with us if we allow Him. We may experience that sometimes our prayers of petition are not answered the way we might expect them but let us remain open and hopeful because the Lord can always surprise us. Mary Magdalene was heartbroken when they crucified her Lord, and her sorrow increased even more when she went to the tomb and could not find what she was hoping to find: the dead body of Jesus. However, she didn’t give up and went around seeking, then she found something greater: the Risen Christ!