The Lord is Risen! Alleluia! This is the Good News for all.

The Good News warmed the hearts saddened by the bitter loss, dried the tears of the disciples at that time and especially dispelled the darkness of death.

God is Love, so his essence is Love. Jesus Christ was sent by Love, died of Love and is now risen again in the eternal Love that He has always given to mankind. A living Love that is proven and concretely manifested through the sufferings that Jesus once carried on his way to the top of Calvary and to be hanged on the cross; and according to His promises, after three days, He will rise again in glory in order to His love will always be everlasting Love.

There is no way to glory without suffering, so there is also no true Love that does not require us to taste the bitterness and suffering even death. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God himself, but he emptied himself to be like us; he was suffered, condemned and crucified by mankind and for each of us. But all these sufferings are just means for Him to manifest his love for us, and to transform into ultimate glory, the Resurrection Mystery, which we rejoice today.

Good means will bring good results, how about us? How did we prepare our hearts for the Holy Week? And today, will our hearts be overflowed with joy and peace of the Risen Lord? Perhaps, we too will be like the startled Maria Madeleine was frightened when she was standing before the Empty Tomb; or as Peter immediately went to the tomb to look for Jesus’ Body as Madeleine had announced; and it might also be nice to be like John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, because he immediately believed that Jesus was risen, he saw and he believed …

Yes, the Lord is truly risen, which nothing can be denied, the empty tomb itself in the Gospel proves it. Perhaps, more or less, we feel regretted because we could not see with our own eyes the very mysterious empty Tomb like the Apostles. But it is not for that reason that we lose faith in the mystery of Resurrection.

Jesus Christ always invites us to contemplate, to meditate and to be convinced that he is risen in glory. The Lord has risen so that we can live and live in his glory. He has shown us that we should embrace sufferings, hardships and trials to reach the perfection of true and everlasting Love, as Jesus Christ has been suffered, died and risen for us.

Let us also imitate Mary as the model of silent cooperation in the work of the Redemptive Mission of Jesus; with Mary let us try to make small sacrifices in our daily life, so that we too will share in her Son’s Redemption, not just for the next life , but also for the very present moment of our earthly journey towards the eternal homeland.

May the Risen Christ always bless and accompany each of us in our journey to follow Him. May he always be the light of truth to lead us to the shore of love, the final destination, to be union with God in love, that our hearts have been thirsting and restlessly longing for.