DEAR DIOCESAN FAMILY:
"
... And tell the disciples that He has risen from the dead and is already ahead of them on
the way to Galilee. There you will see. By this I have told you all. "Matthew 28: 7. Health, Grace and Peace on this day of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ! In all times and generations there will be no news so benign and powerful as that announced on the third day of the death and burial of Jesus of Nazareth: that death was overcome by Life, that hope surpassed doubt and fear, That the presence of the Son of God overflowing the hearts of many from then on until today, which becomes living experience in our communities and our contexts. Christ was resurrected! Hallelujah! To celebrate His resurrection is to open ourselves to the life-giving energy of God, to the confidence of knowing that His presence is in the world. It is to find the way and follow it, even in the midst of shadows and abysses, to follow it and to do the mission today.
The Lord is risen! Hallelujah! If He did not live, our faith was vain. Today his promise is fulfilled: "Because I live, you will live." And he makes the call to all and all: You young people, find the meaning of life as Jesus lived it, in permanent surrender to the cause of God and his infinite Love for human beings. To you who are frightened by the harshness of existence: with the risen Christ strengthen your rebellion against falsehood, selfishness, violence and injustice! May his feeling, his thinking and his actions not yield to insensibility and alienation. May their lives manifest the presence of the risen Christ! You fathers and mothers of families, the living Christ shines in the faithful love that you have, your presence gives them the courage to forgive and reconcile, enlightens and sustains the generous dedication to care for, sustain and love the children and generations to come. You sons and daughters, children and adolescents, who are opening to life, the risen Christ, guides you and receives you in your heart. With Him discover the true values that will make you brave, responsible and generous. And in the midst of an unstable and confused world, seek to follow the path of Jesus, the way of Love.
Those who live alone, the risen Christ, does not leave them in solitude, rather puts into their hands another way of creating life, builds another family not according to the flesh and blood, but in the Spirit of sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. There is so much to care for, heal and love.
Women and men of the third age, the resurrected Christ lives with you, does not allow your soul to be dried up, even if your strength decays, or you can not use your hands, or little light of your eyes, with Him until the end will arrive full of life.
Those who are suffering diseases, the living Christ is with you in the cross of his pain; In the discouragement and darkness of sleepless nights, is covering his wounds with his mercy. It is with those who, through the study of medicine, provide relief to their wounds. With you it is placed in the hands of the Father, with you cross the border of life without end.
You who live in fragility know that in his simplicity and dignity he shared the gift of life, now join the risen Christ, who encourages to work for truth and service and mutual respect. He is among you and wants with you to seek the common good.
You who serve and strive for justice, liberty, love, and dignity of every human being, know that the risen Christ is holding them, guides them in this arduous task, raises them if they fall, infuses them with a breath of new life and Opens new horizons for them to continue the mission.
And although in many parts of the world it is still Holy Friday, the risen Christ gives them encouragement to work against evil and death until the end of time. Christ living next to you transforms the barren into fruitful life. All of us, who have experienced how the night turns into a luminous dawn, bear witness to His presence today! It is the Passover of Jesus of Nazareth. ,
We are all called to the mission: those who will receive the Sacrament of new birth and those who renew our baptismal covenant, let us continue to draw closer to their presence, to their light that overcomes darkness, to their Grace that rebuilds our lives. To His Mercy that opens our hearts to others. To His Gospel that shocks our being and transforms us. Let's go and let us see. In Him there is new life. AMEN.
In His Peace, He embraces you in this Paschal time, April 2017.
Bishop Griselda