Provincial message on Easter 2025

Easter Message 2025

Jesus Christ is our fully alive Saviour and God Luke 24: 1-12

Dear Confreres, friends, and relatives,

On this Easter Sunday, we will celebrate the most important Solemnity of our liturgical calendar-the day that gives meaning to our faith. It is the day in which our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is fully alive. In the Gospel of Luke 24:1-12, we read about how two men in brilliant clothes appeared to the women searching for Jesus in the empty tomb, where, "the Body ofthe Lord Jesus was not there". The two men said to them, 'Why look among the dead for someone who is alive?'

It is crucial to seek Jesus Christ and relate to Him as our living Saviour and God, who is not dead! Indeed, Jesus Christ is fully alive, having conquered adversity by obeying His beloved Father's will. Through His passion, death, and resurrection, He has opened the gates of heaven for us. We will reflect on these significant moments during the Easter Triduum.

For a true believer, accepting and believing that Jesus is alive and is our Saviour after He suffered on His cross and came back to life is notjust an option but a certainty as our founder, St John Baptist Scalabrini encouraged all his missionaries and all Christians to trust in the Risen Lord and life everlasting:

"For all Christians, the Cross of Jesus Christ is the source of all hope, it is the resurrection of the dead, the hope and consolation of the poor, the pledge of eternal life, the strength of God."

(John Baptist Scalabrini to the Missionaries departing from St. Calogero, Milan, on June 10, 1884).

We should remember how often our living Lord Jesus Christ has helped us, answered our prayers, bringing light, and hope in our moments of uncertainty and chaos.

What sets these women apart is their extraordinary courage. Despite the religious and political persecution faced by Jesus' followers, they bravely went to the tomb where He was buried. Their profound love for Jesus overcame all fear and persecution, inspiring us to be equally brave and resilient in our faith.

Despite being considered a second-class group in Jewish society, these women showed us how to show their love for their Master by being true pilgrims of hope-as Pope Francis invites us to be during the Jubilee Year, which began on the evening ofDecember 24, 2024, and continues until January 2026. We know that our risen Lord will assist us despite the challenges of powerful religious, political, and economic groups.

Just like these vulnerable women, there are other vulnerable groups in our societies, such as migrants, refugees, and seafarers, who are often seen as second-class citizens due to societal prejudices. However, out of love for their families and their dreams, they become pilgrims of hope, overcoming challenges such as rejection, racism, and classism in their new countries. They endure long separations from their loved ones, often working in difficult and dangerous conditions, and facing discrimination and hostility in their host countries. Yet their endurance, resilience and hope for a better future keep them going, inspiring us to be pilgrims of hope in our ministry and ways of life.

Today's Gospel presents a powerful invitation to us as Christians. It encourages us to relate to Jesus Christ not as a distant figure but as a faithful and living Saviour. He is the one who overcomes His challenges, even death, and is always there for us. He listens to, accompanies, understands, blesses, journeys, and mingles with us, especially during our darkest and most confusing moments. This Gospel message reassures us that we are never alone in our journey of faith and hope.

Let us entrust ourselves to the intercession of the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, so that we may fully embrace our faith as pilgrims of hope, overcoming the difficulties and challenges that life presents to us, knowing that Jesus Christ is our fully alive Saviour and God.

Sincerely yours,

Fr. Martin Ignacio Gutierrez, CS

Provincial Superior

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