It is intriguing that the Gospel story that will be proclaimed on Easter Sunday begins to unfold with Mary of Magdala coming to the tomb, “early in the morning, while it was still dark.” For the author of that Gospel and the early Christian community, that darkness was not just a physical one. For Mary of Magdala, Simon Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, their initial encounter with the mystery of the empty tomb and Christ’s resurrection was marked by opaqueness and hesitancy. It is where you and I may find ourselves in that Gospel story on Easter morning, that is, when “it was still dark.” We often come to the tomb with our fears, sorrows, traumas, and dashed hope.
As we celebrate Easter morning, we cannot help but to recognize that the darkness still veils our world. The ongoing war and human tragedy in Ukraine, gun violence on the streets of our cities and so many other injustices claim the lives of thousands of people every day. Then, there is the climate and biodiversity crises that continue unabated casting a long shadow on the future generations and on the survival of much of life on our fragile planet. Besides, we are often confronted with conflict and strife in our personal lives, in our relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. That leaves us frazzled and somehow skeptical about the uncertain future.
Yet, in the middle of the darkness, God's light breaks through. The Gospel passage on Easter Day speaks about the Beloved Disciple who goes into the dark tomb. He sees with the eyes of faith, and he believes. May each one of us continue on our own unique journey of a Beloved Disciple of Jesus. So that, strengthened by the celebration of the Easter Sunday, we too, may receive the grace to see into the dark empty tomb with the eyes of faith. That faith inspires us to become living witnesses of Christ’s resurrection, eager to respond with mercy and compassion to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
In his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis writes:
“Sunday is the day of the Resurrection… the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality…. Thus, the creatures of this world no longer appear to us under merely natural guise because the risen One is mysteriously holding them to himself and directing them towards fullness as their end. The very flowers of the field and the birds which his human eyes contemplated and admired are now imbued with his radiant presence.”
The crosses we carry – and in fact, all the evolutionary travails of the Earth and of its creatures – are united with the cross of our Lord. May the promise of the Resurrection fill us with hope, enliven our lives, and empower us to rise from our respective tombs and follow in the footsteps of Christ, in charity and justice for all.
-Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM
As we celebrate Easter morning, we cannot help but to recognize that the darkness still veils our world. The ongoing war and human tragedy in Ukraine, gun violence on the streets of our cities and so many other injustices claim the lives of thousands of people every day. Then, there is the climate and biodiversity crises that continue unabated casting a long shadow on the future generations and on the survival of much of life on our fragile planet. Besides, we are often confronted with conflict and strife in our personal lives, in our relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. That leaves us frazzled and somehow skeptical about the uncertain future.
Yet, in the middle of the darkness, God's light breaks through. The Gospel passage on Easter Day speaks about the Beloved Disciple who goes into the dark tomb. He sees with the eyes of faith, and he believes. May each one of us continue on our own unique journey of a Beloved Disciple of Jesus. So that, strengthened by the celebration of the Easter Sunday, we too, may receive the grace to see into the dark empty tomb with the eyes of faith. That faith inspires us to become living witnesses of Christ’s resurrection, eager to respond with mercy and compassion to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
In his encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis writes:
“Sunday is the day of the Resurrection… the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality…. Thus, the creatures of this world no longer appear to us under merely natural guise because the risen One is mysteriously holding them to himself and directing them towards fullness as their end. The very flowers of the field and the birds which his human eyes contemplated and admired are now imbued with his radiant presence.”
The crosses we carry – and in fact, all the evolutionary travails of the Earth and of its creatures – are united with the cross of our Lord. May the promise of the Resurrection fill us with hope, enliven our lives, and empower us to rise from our respective tombs and follow in the footsteps of Christ, in charity and justice for all.
-Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, OFM