Christ is risen! He has burst open the gates of hell and let the dead go free; he has renewed the earth through the members of his Church now born again in baptism, and has made it blossom afresh with men brought back to life. His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of heaven, which stand wide open to receive those who rise up from the earth.
CHRIST IS
RISEN!
Because of Christ’s resurrection
the thief ascends to paradise, the bodies of the blessed enter the holy city,
and the dead are restored to the company of the living. There is an upward
movement in the whole of creation, each element raising itself to something
higher. We see hell restoring its victims to the upper regions, earth sending
its buried dead to heaven, and heaven presenting the new arrivals to the Lord.
In one and the same movement, our Savior’s passion raises men from the depths,
lifts them up from the earth, and sets them in the heights.
Christ is risen! His rising brings
life to the dead, forgiveness to sinners, and glory to the saints. And so David
the prophet summons all creation to join in celebrating the Easter festival:
Rejoice and be glad, he cries, on this day which the Lord has made!
THE LIGHT OF
CHRIST – ENDLESS DAY
The light of Christ is an endless
day that knows no night. Christ is this day, says the Apostle; such is the
meaning of his words: Night is almost over; day is at hand.
He tells us that night is almost
over, not that it is about to fall. By this we are meant to understand that the
coming of Christ’s light puts Satan’s darkness to flight, leaving no place for
any shadow of sin. His everlasting radiance dispels the dark clouds of the past
and checks the hidden growth of vice. The Son is that day to whom the day,
which is the Father, communicates the mystery of his divinity. He is the day
who says through the mouth of Solomon: I have caused an unfailing light to rise
in heaven. And as in heaven no night can follow day, so no sin can overshadow
the justice of Christ. The celestial day is perpetually bright and shining with
brilliant light; clouds can never darken its skies.
In the same way, the light of
Christ is eternally glowing with luminous radiance and can never be
extinguished by the darkness of sin. This is why John the evangelist says: The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never been able to overpower
it.
REJOICE IN
THIS HOLY DAY
And so, my brothers, each of us
ought surely to rejoice on this holy day. Let no one, conscious of his sinfulness,
withdraw from our common celebration, nor let anyone be kept away from our
public prayer by the burden of his guilt. Sinner he may indeed be, but he must
not despair of pardon on this day which is so highly privileged; for if a thief
could receive the grace of paradise, how could a Christian be refused
forgiveness?
Crossroads:Initiative: https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/
Article: https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/christ-is-risen-maximus-of-turin/
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