Lenten Message From Fr. Tom O'Donnell
The Hope and Promise of the Resurrection
As Hibernians and as Christians we celebrate the central Mysteries of our faith during this month of April. Without the Death and Resurrection of Christ, our faith would have no meaning. Christ, Our Redeemer, suffered and died for us to give each one of us salvation. By His Resurrection, Jesus truly proved that he was the Messiah. In His rising from the dead, Christ has given all of us the promise and hope that we will one day also rise to be gloriously happy with Our Father in the Eternal Kingdom.
The Resurrection of Christ is the most important event in the history of the world. As we contemplate this mystery of the Cross and Resurrection, we begin to see that pain, suffering and death will be transformed into new life. God, who is a God of life, has assured us that ultimately there is nothing to fear, not even death itself.
Our task as Christians is to believe in spite of all that we see in the world around us -- the pain and suffering of war, violence, the killing of the unborn, hunger and poverty. To hold this kind of unshakeable hope in the face of what we hear and witness every day may, to some people, be an act of insanity. We may not have a reasonable argument for our position, for our hope. Instead of a logical answer, we have a person —Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.
Mary Magdalene also carried this hope in her heart. He had given her life back to her, and she, in turn, gave her life to him as one of his most faithful and loving followers. When she comes to his tomb, the two angels ask her: “Woman, why are you weeping?” Are we being asked the same question? When Jesus rose from the dead, all of us rose with him. Jesus’ resurrection was the ultimate and final sign that life is stronger than death. We firmly hold and believe that death is not the end of who we are. Death is merely a stage that we go through. On Easter morning Jesus emerged on the other side of death into a new and eternal life. You and I have been given that same hope and promise.
On Easter Sunday in 1916 brave Irish heroes began the fight for religious and political independence of the Irish people after hundreds of years of oppression. On this Easter Sunday let us pray that finally there will be a lasting and just peace in all of Ireland.
With every blessing in Unity, Friendship and Christian Charity,
Father Tom O’Donnell, AOH Penna. State Chaplain
As Hibernians and as Christians we celebrate the central Mysteries of our faith during this month of April. Without the Death and Resurrection of Christ, our faith would have no meaning. Christ, Our Redeemer, suffered and died for us to give each one of us salvation. By His Resurrection, Jesus truly proved that he was the Messiah. In His rising from the dead, Christ has given all of us the promise and hope that we will one day also rise to be gloriously happy with Our Father in the Eternal Kingdom.
The Resurrection of Christ is the most important event in the history of the world. As we contemplate this mystery of the Cross and Resurrection, we begin to see that pain, suffering and death will be transformed into new life. God, who is a God of life, has assured us that ultimately there is nothing to fear, not even death itself.
Our task as Christians is to believe in spite of all that we see in the world around us -- the pain and suffering of war, violence, the killing of the unborn, hunger and poverty. To hold this kind of unshakeable hope in the face of what we hear and witness every day may, to some people, be an act of insanity. We may not have a reasonable argument for our position, for our hope. Instead of a logical answer, we have a person —Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.
Mary Magdalene also carried this hope in her heart. He had given her life back to her, and she, in turn, gave her life to him as one of his most faithful and loving followers. When she comes to his tomb, the two angels ask her: “Woman, why are you weeping?” Are we being asked the same question? When Jesus rose from the dead, all of us rose with him. Jesus’ resurrection was the ultimate and final sign that life is stronger than death. We firmly hold and believe that death is not the end of who we are. Death is merely a stage that we go through. On Easter morning Jesus emerged on the other side of death into a new and eternal life. You and I have been given that same hope and promise.
On Easter Sunday in 1916 brave Irish heroes began the fight for religious and political independence of the Irish people after hundreds of years of oppression. On this Easter Sunday let us pray that finally there will be a lasting and just peace in all of Ireland.
With every blessing in Unity, Friendship and Christian Charity,
Father Tom O’Donnell, AOH Penna. State Chaplain
Labels: Chaplain's message
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