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ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN

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April 4, 2010

The Good News...

           ...May You Enjoy A Blessed Easter!

The awesome liturgical rites of the Triduum usher us into the Alleluias of Easter. Yes, the Lord is truly risen. He is alive. He is among us!

To all the people of this Archdiocese, I extend my very best personal wishes that the true joy of Easter may be in your hearts and souls, your bodies and minds. Easter brings new life and consequently, hope and optimism. God has not and He will not abandon us. Despite our own sins and failures, despite our lack of faith and trust, despite our doubts and anxieties, the Lord is truly with us.

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have been re-deemed. For that redemption to take effect in us and result in eternal peace and joy, requires our personal response as free creatures. God never forces us. He calls, He invites and He waits for our response.

The Lenten and Easter liturgies should have led us to a firm realization that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and our Savior. He is calling us to share in His life so that, like Him, we can have life everlasting. This is the faith each of us must have. Saint Augustine tells us that faith is the first thing that joins us to God. If we wish to approach God (or respond to God), we must begin by believing.  By recognizing and believing in Almighty God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and their Holy Spirit, we are on the right track because Jesus tells us He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He leads us to our heavenly Father and He sends His Holy Spirit upon us to confirm all that He has revealed.

The Catholic faith we possess is indeed a gift from God. It is a gift to be cherished and nurtured. A gift to lead us safely on our journey of life on this earth to eternal life with God in heaven. The full celebration of the Easter season which we are now observing is an opportune moment to express our gratitude to God for this gift of Catholic faith.

During the Easter season, we commemorate and remember the specific interaction of Jesus with His Apostles. In fear and doubt, they had abandoned Jesus when He was arrested. They ran away and hid.  Peter even denied Him. But when the women came and informed them that Jesus had risen from the dead, still doubting but now confronted with  the Truth, their faith and trust were rekindled.

Also, when Jesus ascended to heaven before their very eyes, they were so moved that again they withdrew to await the coming of the Holy Spirit Jesus had promised them.

Like the Apostles, we are ordinary  human  beings.  And  like them, we are called by Jesus to believe in Him — that He is the eternal Son of God and our Lord and Savior.

Therefore, the liturgical celebrations of this Easter season should serve us as a time of renewed faith and hope, a time when we begin to understand more clearly who we really are. That we are created in the Image and Likeness of God is no small thing. This is the essence of our being. The fact of who we are identifies us and outlines our purpose on earth and our true goal in life.

The Catholic Church, established by Jesus, has as its reason for existence to bring us to Christ.  Therefore, the Church shares with us all that Jesus taught, all that He revealed. Through the ministry of the sacraments we are reborn, forgiven and saved in Jesus. This is the great message of Easter. This is the blessing I seek for you and your loves ones and all the people of this Archdiocese, that we might have life and have it more abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Happy Easter.