BLESSED & HOLY DIVINE EASTER WISHES!

BLESSED & HOLY DIVINE EASTER WISHES! Dear Friends in Christ “Why are you weeping?” (John 20:13) was the question Jesus asked Mary of Magdala in front of the empty tomb. A question the Risen Lord is asking every one of us on this Easter Day. Of course, there are many reasons and situations in our life that distress us and make us sad. And yet, the question is very meaningful because whatever is wrong and bad and sad in our lives receives a new meaning by the Easter event. On Good Friday, it was announced from all the churches that God died. This is the same proclamation that many philosophers and writers gave they asserted the death of God. This assertion however was a cry issuing out of the desperation being unable to find God in the midst of their woes and struggles of life. When the gospels speak about the death of God, it is a bold revelation of the reality and Presence of God in the midst of our sorrows and miseries. The death of God on the Cross was not the end of life but the beginning of a glorious existence for man! It was not the absence or the end of the relevance of God that Calvary signifies, but the great love and concern of God who came down to this valley of tears to wipe away every tear from our eyes, so that “there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain.” (Revelation 21:4)  The cruelty and death were not thrust upon the Lord but as Jesus had predicted – “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own.” (John 10:18) By laying down His Life, we “might have life and might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)  The Risen Lord has once and for all changed the whole meaning of sorrow and death. This curse and despair has vanished from every sorrow and death in the splendour of the Glory of the Resurrection; and every bit of suffering becomes an expression of love. Hence St. Paul affirms, “Death is swallowed up in victory. Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) As I wish you a Happy and Blessed Easter from Divine Retreat Centre, my prayer for you is that the glorious rays of the Victory of the Risen Lord may illumine all that is sad and sorrowful in your life. As the disciples of Jesus, we are an “EASTER PEOPLE” who are able to rejoice even in the midst of our struggles because we know if we suffer fro Jesus, we also reign with Him! With this gospel truth, we will be able to encourage those who are struggling with us. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) Blessings in the Name of Our Risen Lord+ Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. Website: www.drcm.org