04/01/2023

This month Christians celebrate our greatest festival, Easter, when we proclaim the victory of Jesus over the Cross and death itself, and from which we draw the central hope of the Christian faith. Throughout Lent we have spent time preparing, and taking heart from the promise that God sent His only Son into the world not to condemn it, but that through Him we might have life and have it in abundance. Christians believe in the Resurrection but Easter is much more than remembering a single event. We believe in the power of the Resurrection to begin change in this life, where our hope in the future promise of life with God means we can draw strength to change ourselves and the world in the present. Every time we see acts of forgiveness and mercy, kindness and care we have witnesses the power of hope to triumph over despair, of the forces of life and love to triumph over death and darkness, and we believe we are called to be part of that. So now in these troubled times we pray that the power of the Risen Christ will help us to work for peace, for the protection and support of the world’s needy and forgotten, and closer to home that we may be a means by which some of these small miracles can come about. We light a small fire on Easter morning from which candles are lit which are given to the baptized and inspire us all to continue to believe that light does indeed conquer darkness, and that it will not win. Serious stuff I know and plenty to ponder. I wish you all a very happy and blessed Easter with much joy, plenty of chocolate and the good things Easter brings, temporal and Eternal! Fr Richard