Easter message from the Superior General

Dear confreres, associates and supporters,

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the be-all and the end-all of the Christian faith. As Paul himself put it: “If Jesus is not raised from the dead, our preaching is in vain and we are the most pitiable of people.” It comes down finally to this: if Jesus was not raised from death, Christianity is a fraud and a joke; if he did rise from death, then Christianity is the fullness of God’s revelation, and Jesus must be the absolute centre of our lives. There is no third option.

With the resurrection of Jesus, God’s Kingdom, God’s reign, has come right into our world. The old ways and patterns of the world no longer hold sway. “Might is right” is no longer true. When Jesus was raised from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit, the first Christians knew that Caesar’s days were numbered. Jesus had taken the worst that the world could throw at him and he returned, alive and triumphant. They knew that the Lord of the world was no longer Caesar, but rather someone whom Caesar had killed but whom God had raised from death. This is why the risen Christ has been the inspiration for resistance movements up and down the centuries.

By means of the resurrection the path of salvation has been opened to everyone. Paul told us that “though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself and took the form of slave…accepting even death, death on a cross.” The opening up of the divine life allows everyone free access to divine mercy. And this is why the Lord himself could say, “When the Son of Man is lifted up, he will draw all people to himself,” and why Paul could assert in 1 Corinthians, “When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.” The resurrection shows that Christ can gather back to the Father every creature whom he has embraced through his suffering love.

Let us go forth this Easter as missionary disciples, doing just as the apostles did, proclaiming our faith in the risen Jesus.

As we continue praying for the release from captivity of Pier Luigi Maccalli, I ask you also to please pray that our coming General Assembly will bear much fruit for the coming six-year mandate and beyond.

Fachtna O’Driscoll SMA

Superior General