As the machine of warfare continues to churn out more dangerous weaponry, only the power and joy of Christ’s resurrection can fill hearts with comfort and peace, Pope Francis said before giving his Easter blessing.
This night we see the light of Christ reflected in the joy of those who are to be baptized, received into the Church, and confirmed; we see it as they join us at the Eucharistic Table for the first time, to receive with us the Body and Blood of Jesus, Crucified and Risen.
As individuals and as a church, it can be tempting to dwell on mistakes, failures and sins that block the fullness of life, but Easter is the proclamation that the Lord is victorious and his love will triumph, Pope Francis said.
On Good Friday it is hard to see the beauty through the darkness and the grief. On Good Friday it is finished. We have faith. We know that Easter will bring incredible joy. We know that not all is lost—that life wins out over death, that love overcomes all evil.
Good Friday is a day of great honesty, a moment in which presumption may not stand. This is that moment to entrust ourselves and the whole of our lives to the One who loved us to the very end.
Here are a few ways we can exercise our faith and have a little Easter fun.
Recalling Jesus’ death on the cross, Pope Francis led thousands on Good Friday in reflecting on the crosses of loneliness, fear and betrayal that crucify countless men, women and children in the world.
A funeral Mass was offered at the Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel in Lodi, N.J., for Felician Sister Mary Olivia Baranoski, who died Jan. 23 at age 86.
Jesus’ gesture of washing his disciples’ feet, an act once reserved to servants and slaves, is one that all Christians, especially bishops, must imitate, Pope Francis told hundreds of inmates and prison employees on Holy Thursday.
A man who tried to walk through St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan close to 8 p.m. local time April 17 had gas cans, lighter fluid and igniters and claimed he was just cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue where he had left his car, which he said had run out of gas.
Archbishop William E. Lori and the auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Baltimore will celebrate Triduum liturgies at the following locations:
Let us celebrate this Eucharist in company with Christ and his apostles with deep joy and then let us accompany the Lord to the Garden to watch and pray in his Presence.
