Easter Message 2024

Transcript:

I'm delighted to greet you as we come together to celebrate the great feast of Easter, the most important feast in the Christian calendar.

 And it's wonderful for the family of our Archdiocese to give thanks for the new life which the Risen Lord brings to all of us, especially through our parish communities and through the different works of outreach, which were inspired by this new life in the Risen Christ.

At the beginning of the Easter Vigil, we light a fire. We bring new light into the world at a moment of darkness and in the procession, as we carry the paschal candle, we sing the light of Christ.

We recall that when Jesus spoke about himself, one of the things that he described was his own gift of light.

He said, “I am the light of the world”.  

We know that this year has been difficult for people in so many parts of the world.

We pray especially and continue to do so for the people of Ukraine. And we think of the suffering in Israel and Gaza as we pray for the Prince of Peace to influence those who can make decisions and bring peace into the world.

We also know that in our own lives, just as we carry the candle at Easter, so the light of Christ can shine out from within us, particularly in our words and our deeds, because we recognize that we are indeed an Easter people.

I want to wish you and your families and all those close to you, every blessing this Easter season.

Let the light of the risen Christ shine through in the things that you say and do, especially within your family settings, with your neighbours, and as you witness to him in the world today.

And pray for that gift of peace, that the light of the world may shine in the darkest places of our world today.

May every blessing be yours this Easter season. And I assure you that I pray for you and all those close to you. A very happy Easter.

Resources for Lent and Easter