Easter Message from Bishop Anthony Randazzo
For Catholics around Australia, Easter 2021 is a special time. There is no more important celebration than the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The community of the Church is looking forward to gathering together to celebrate Holy Week and the Easter Triduum.
For people of faith and for all those who are searching, we might ask:
- What does it mean to believe what Jesus said?
- What does it mean to believe what he did?
- And what does it mean to believe who Jesus is?
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus is present to us in every celebration of the Mass and in a special way is revealed in the Paschal Mystery through Easter.
Easter is the journey of Christ from death to life, and from darkness to light.
Jesus died for us so that we might not suffer death for our sins but be offered redemption and eternal life with him. Jesus faced the depths of darkness for us so that we could open the shadow part of our lives to his power and allow his light to dispel our darkness.
This is an invitation to change. When we change we grow, and our concern must be that we are always growing more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
It is one thing to celebrate the Easter liturgies, it is another to contemplate the moment of embrace, encounter and heavenly life that the Risen Lord reveals to us through his Resurrected Body. For some, this might be a return to Jesus as the centre of our lives as it was when we first encountered him. For others, it might be the very first time we have personally encountered Jesus in his human and divine presence.
This Easter, let us contemplate the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ, with us yesterday, today, and forever, who draws us into relationship with him in a way that is life-giving and new. Let us surrender our lives to Jesus and allow our imagination and our hearts to be captured by that sacred and intimate encounter.
May the blessing of the Risen Lord be with you and your loved ones and remain with you forever.
Easter Message from Bishop Anthony Randazzo