After a long Lent, Catholics were able
to sign Alleluia, see the flickering flame of the paschal candle and renew
their baptismal promises on Easter Sunday. In the Diocese of Arlington, though
they weren’t able to return to church, thousands tuned into the live streamed
Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge at the Cathedral of St. Thomas
More in Arlington April 12.
Looking directly into the camera, Bishop
Burbidge asked the faithful to see God’s guiding hand throughout all of
history, and to trust in him now.
“In the Old Testament, we see how in the
act of creation God transformed chaos into order. He led his people from danger
to safety and from captivity to freedom,” said Bishop Burbidge. “Jesus in the
New Testament is proclaimed as the fulfillment of all God’s promises, the son
of God, the one who took up his cross and died for us. He was victorious. He is
the light that has conquered the darkness.
“Dear friends, just like those who were
at the tomb, we are called, we are sent forth to radiate that light of Christ
to others,” he said. “Even in this time of the pandemic, we do not give into
fear because that we know that God will continue to deliver us and to protect
his people, to lead us to safety.”
