By the time this reflection appears in the newsletter, we are well into the Easter Season, in fact almost towards the end of it. However, the message of Easter which proclaims the Good News of the Resurrection of Christ is by no means a message that has an expiration date.

Indeed, the entire Christian religion is founded on this very message that must be ceaselessly proclaimed all year round. Day after day, year after year, generation after generation, Christians are asked to witness to the truth of the Christ event of suffering, death and resurrection.

When I was learning how to drive, my instructor insisted that before changing lanes or before entering the traffic, it was not enough to look at the side mirrors but also to turn my head to the back of my shoulder so that I could cover my “blind spot”.

We are in the joyous season of Easter and today we are invited to share this joy with the Apostles of Jesus, especially Thomas, who struggled to believe that Jesus is alive.

In each of the four gospels there are wonderful resurrection stories in which we see the early followers of Christ struggling to grasp the fact and the meaning of the resurrection of Christ.

As this edition of In the Word reaches you, we are about to embark on the Easter Triduum, those blessed days of entering into the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s a busy time for many of us, with all the liturgies to attend and be part of. But on the flip-side, it is also, for Christians, a time of profound un-busyness, of deep quiet, of fasting, prayer and reflection.

This Gospel text always brings a smile to my face. I am not sure if it is because I so enjoy reading about this episode in the resurrected life of Jesus or because it brings back so many fond memories of my days in the Seminary.

Happy Easter to you! May the blessings of the Risen Lord be with you all.

I don’t know about you, but aside from the spiritual joy of the Easter season, I always seem to feel an extra spring in my step as well.

I do not know if John Paul II chose the Second Sunday after Easter to be also Divine Mercy Sunday because of the Gospel reading for this Sunday or for some other reason, but certainly the celebration of God’s Divine Mercy goes well with today’s Gospel.

Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation, ‘The Joy of the Gospel’, states, “There are Christians whose lives seems like Lent without Easter”. Are we that?

Happy Easter! It’s wonderful that this edition of In the Word is published in Easter Week, just days after the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord. What a joyful time this is.

We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song! This is what we profess, but what does it mean for us in our life and our mission?