Easter (Pascha) Message

Jubilation! - Easter Message of Hope

There is this person who has suffered a massive stroke. To complicate matters, he is diabetic and has pneumonia. Added to these conditions is the swelling of his brain, thus the doctors predict that at most this person will last only 48 hours. Operation is an option but the prognosis is 80% mortality rate and 20% becoming a vegetable. Faced with expected exorbitant hospital bills, what can the family do? Then somebody suggested that he be given the anointing of the sick even though it is past midnight. Fortunately, the priest obliges. After two hours, the patient becomes a little conscious and requests for writing materials. Through writing, he expresses his love for his family. Another CT Scan and more tests reveal that the swelling of the brain is still there but clinically, the patient is improving. With this mystery, the family and the doctors could simply cite the miraculous powers of the Sacrament.

The other story is about a prisoner who is ready to be released. He has been jailed for estafa and illegal recruitment. He was in prison for a little over three years, and now he is all set to assume his family responsibilities. Of course, there is fear, yet he is also hopeful that people will give him a chance when he will seek employment in order to support his family.

These are all accounts of hope. After the passion and death of Jesus, his Father ends his story with a ray of hope. A good man in the person of Jesus was executed due to his lifestyle of doing good which was not acceptable to those in authority and power. He had to suffer, be badly beaten and crucified, but in the end, he is vindicated. Death is finally conquered and new life comes. Jesus seemed to have been defeated by death but he was raised from the dead.

In his encyclical entitled "Spe Salvi" (On Christian Hope), His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI underscores the theme: Man needs God, otherwise he remains without hope. He develops this idea in relation to the great solemnity of Easter:

There is criticism of contemporary Christianity in that it has largely limited its attention to individual salvation instead of the wider world and thus, reduced the "horizon of its hope." It is important to remember that as Christians, we are not to limit ourselves in raising the question about how I can save myself. We are to be concerned with others by thinking of ways in order that others may also be saved. In these past days of the Triduum recollection, what has been underscored is the notion of communion. Such communion can only be seen and experienced in the love, concern and unit y of the faithful. This, in turn, can only be achieved if there is compassion, empathy, and genuine concern for the welfare of the common good.

Why is it then important to hope? It is for the simple reason, that no matter how perplexed and confused we are, we are to hang on to the promise of Jesus who remains alive. Upon seeing the tomb, the other disciple simply believed. When we find ourselves in situations where there are competing voices for the truth, we are not to lose hope. It will still be a long and arduous battle as we aspire for the truth and justice but rest assured that victory will surely come. This is the Easter message of hope.

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