Easter message by The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka: An occasion to deepen our faith in Christ

Easter is the central mystery of the Christian faith and it is the most significant feast in the Catholic liturgical calendar. 
Lord Jesus who conquered sin and death saved us from eternal darkness. At Easter, we celebrate the fact that the Lord is truly risen and is present among us: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He has risen” (Lk. 24:5). 
These are the words of the angels told to the believers who came early morning to the tomb of the Lord. St. John records that the disciples too went to the tomb on the day after the death of Jesus and saw nothing in the tomb. 

It is the risen Lord who strengthened their faith and it is the risen spirit that sustains our faith today to share the light of the Resurrection among all mankind.
Thus, the feast of Resurrection is an occasion to deepen our faith in Christ. We believe in Christ who is risen and alive. He accompanies us in our journey through life and never abandons us. It is this faith in Christ that gives us the inspiration, inner strength and courage to carry our own crosses to live that new life in Him. However far we may wander, He is always there to restore our strength and revive our hope, calling on us to return to Him to start afresh.

This year we celebrate Easter at a time when our country is going through an unprecedented economic crisis. Our people are faced with enormous difficulties and sufferings due to the spiralling cost of living and price increase of essential items, particularly basic food items and medicine. Most Government Hospitals lack the basic medicines to relieve the suffering of people. Nevertheless, as Easter people, we believe that the Risen Lord is with us.

Easter is a time of hope, a moment of living like the believers of the early Church where “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42) and had everything in common and “there was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34). We need to be concerned of the poor and the needy to give them hope and lend a hand to live joyfully.

Let us, therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord during this Easter season to deliver us from this unfortunate predicament and resurrect our country where all people could live in harmony and dignity so that true democracy and justice will prevail for the citizens of our country to live in peace. We believe that the radiance of Christ’s Resurrection enlightens our own lives. May the light of Christ in this dark hour of our country lead us from darkness to light.
We wish all our faithful and our readers the joy and the peace of the Risen Saviour Jesus Christ.