Bishop, Diocese of Dumaguete
To all of you, brothers and sisters in the Lord, Happy, Happy Easter!
For the Lord is risen, alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord is alive, Mary Magdalene tells the Apostles (John 20:18). And, to Thomas, who doubted that Jesus has risen to new life, the Lord Jesus instructs: Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe. (Jn 20:27).
Let us rejoice, then, my brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Dumaguete. With Jesus risen from the dead, let us always put our trust in him and, with him. Let us always face the threats and the darkness in our lives with confidence and hope in a God who has promised his disciples: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10).
Jesus, the Son of the living God, emptied himself to live with us and humbled himself to die for us. And, even when he was nailed on the Cross and even challenged to get down from the Cross to show that he was really the Son of God, he never failed to love us. So great was his love for us — for sinners — that he implored the Father to forgive those who persecuted him for “they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). He also declared to the Repentant Thief next to him that “today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:34).
Jesus has always shown to us that God who gives life, is and always will be, a God of Mercy.
Let us turn to Jesus then in the days, months and years to come. And let us entrust our lives to him. The existence of Evil in our lives and in our midst is real.
Very recently, the island of Bohol has been a venue of fighting between government and rebel forces. And, while physically distant from us, we know of bombings and deaths, not only of Christians but also of other faiths, like the Palm Sunday bombings in the churches of Egypt. And who knows, evil forces may have already insidiously slipped into our communities?
We must be vigilant. Nevertheless, let us not be cowed by fear. All the more, let us always turn our gaze on the Lord Jesus who continues to be our Light and Guide to the Father in our lives. The Lord Jesus himself has experienced the darkness of violence in his own life. Jesus knows what we go through in the midst of uncertainties. Jesus is our hope!
Hence, emboldened and empowered by his Resurrection, let us rejoice and shout for joy that “Jesus is risen!”
And, with him, we, too, shall rise again from whatever darkness and death we shall go through.
Have a meaningful and memorable Easter 2017!
