“He saw, and he believed” (John 20:8).
An empty tomb was all that was to be seen at the burial place of Jesus. Although the apostle John did not have much to see, he believed because his heart was enlightened by the Spirit of the Risen Lord. This is the beauty and the glory of the Resurrection. A mystery of faith, indeed.
The Christian experience of faith, as described by Saint Paul in particular, fills the heart of the believer and, in an indescribable way, brings him communion with the living Christ. Our Christian vocation gives us a new insight into our questions, our doubts, and our failures. It invites us to enter God’s loving plan of salvation. “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).
In churches throughout the world today, even in troubled countries, people are celebrating in various traditions Christ’s resurrection. Pope Leo XIV in Rome and Christian communities all over the world rejoice in the victory of the Risen Christ. People will sing Alleluia and praise the Lord for leading humankind into the light of the Lord, although there may be little to be seen in terms of peace and harmony among the nations. We stand with those enduring war, displacement, and deprivation of basic needs. Will the light of the Resurrection shine on our world before more people suffer? How is God’s plan unfolding amid the world’s turmoil?
The saying of the Second Vatican Council (Gaudium et spes 80) remains true: “Insofar as men are sinful, the threat of war hangs over them, and hang over them it will until the return of Christ. But insofar as men vanquish sin by a union of love, they will vanquish violence as well and make these words come true: ‘They shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore’ (Isaiah 2:4).” This is the hope that keeps Christians trusting in God’s enduring love.
The Congregation of Holy Cross has a history of enduring hope. Our motto, “The cross, our only hope,” has led us through hard times and times of spiritual growth. We have learned to expand our horizons and also to experience dispossession. This we have seen, and we have begun to understand that Christ is at work in us and through us.
The power of his resurrection has appeared to the eyes of faith in many of our members, women and men of Holy Cross. Even through our weaknesses, the light of the risen Christ has shone quite unexpectedly, sometimes in some humiliating situations that we have known, sometimes in our forerunners who are recognized as grace-filled or as saints, reflecting the glory of Christ. May we all have a joyful Easter season.
This reflection for the Solemnity of Easter was written by the Most Rev. André Richard, C.S.C., Archbishop Emeritus of Moncton in New Brunswick, Canada. He made his First Vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross on 15 August 1956 and was ordained a priest on 17 February 1963. St. John Paul II appointed him as Bishop of Bathurst on 20 May 1989, and he was ordained to the episcopacy on 9 August of the same year. He was appointed Archbishop of Moncton on 16 March 2002 and retired on 15 June 2012.