Easter 2003

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of April 17, 2003)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

"Peace be with you" (Jn. 20:19). I greet you with the very words with which the Risen Lord Jesus greeted His disciples on that first Easter morning. How much we long to receive this gift of peace!

The peace which the Lord Jesus gives us is rooted in His Death and Resurrection, which we have relived in a special way through the liturgies of the Easter Triduum. We proclaim joyfully in the Easter Preface: "By dying he destroyed our death; by rising he restored our life." Yes, our sinfulness in its various forms destroys true peace. Only Christ’s triumph over sin, which He shares with us through prayer and the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist, enables true peace to flourish and to endure. The more we allow the power of Christ’s life within us — divine grace — to influence and direct our thoughts, words and actions, the more will we be sentinels and heralds of the Gospel of Peace. This we must be every day, beginning within our families and then moving beyond to the neighborhood, the workplace, the parish and the community.

May the Risen Lord Jesus fill your hearts with His Easter gifts of hope, peace and joy! I am remembering each of you and those you hold dear in my Masses and prayers, not only on Easter, but throughout this Easter season and beyond.

With a shepherd’s care, I remain

Faithfully in Christ,

Most Rev. Paul S. Loverde

Bishop of Arlington

Copyright ©2003 Arlington Catholic Herald.  All rights reserved.