THE GREAT MYSTERY OF LIFE

 Suffering and pain have come to people unannounced.  Across our cities, violence and human sin are evident, with so-called "drive-by" shootings and death by human conflict.

What then is it that we bring along in our hearts to the resurrection story this Eastertide of 2009?

We come with sadness and with sorrow; we come seeking forgiveness for our world and hope for those who despair of peace and security.

We come with many questions and searchings, because we do not understand, just as the disciples who came to the tomb on that first Easter morning did not understand.

The Resurrection of Christ is the great mystery of life.

It is the greatest change known to humankind that one human being died a violent and destructive death only to rise to a new life with its promise of eternal life for each and every one of us.    We are to be beacons of that resurrected life in all that we are and all that we do for humankind and for our earth.

Christ has no other presence than that in his followers.  So it is imperative that we be messengers of his peace and mercy - we who have experienced the gift of the Resurrected One deep within our being.

The message of peace that we wish to bring to our world is one based on listening, dialogue and the seeking of understanding of the differences that divide our world, whether those differences are based on religion, race, politics, economics, prejudice or intolerance.

It is only together that people of goodwill can seek to bring wholeness and healing into our troubled world.

May our experience of this Eastertide bring a new energy and freshness to our faith and to our humanity, so that we may be the messengers of peace and mercy that our Christian calling constantly invites us to be.

 I have adapted the above message from the President of the Association of Australian Religious - Monsignor Brian Arahill