By the grace of God, once again we are celebrating Easter, in which the mystery of these days that we celebrate with such powerful liturgy together with the communities we serve, reaches its fullness. It is the moment in which we celebrate our faith in God the Father, who loved us so much that He gave us the possibility to rise again with His Son putting aside our falls and our death. In celebrating Christ’s victory over darkness, we receive each year an invitation to renew within ourselves a forward-looking vision through the hope of a new resurrection.
This renewal, and particularly this invitation, is not a dream for the future, but a concrete challenge for our lives today. Easter, in fact, is not only a feast or an occasion of celebration, but a call to begin anew each day. Every Christian is called to look within himself and recognize which “death” we need to overcome, and which attitudes need a new beginning in our life. This is undoubtedly a great responsibility that we carry as Christians, and for us religious, as consecrated persons. The genuine joy we transmit as Christians depends on us, and through it we continue to grow each day in the prophetic and authentic witness we than give as consecrated persons.
It is precisely in this spirit of renewal that we see what truly encourages us, as Saint Augustine urges us to celebrate the feast of Easter “not only with our words but with our lives.” (Sermon 228) Saint Augustine often reminds us that we do this not only by accepting the call to conversion, but also by adopting a way of life that continually expresses praise and thanksgiving to God. It is only in this Spirit that we can truly make the joy of Easter our own and allow it to reach those around us.
In this spirit, I take this opportunity, on behalf of all the brothers, to wish you and your families a holy Easter. In our thoughts, we also remember our brothers and sisters who are burdened by illness, as well as their parents, relatives, and friends. May we find ways to bring to them the hope of the victorious Christ.
A Blessed Easter!
Fr. Leslie Gatt osa
Prior Provincial