‘In Him a new age has dawned; the long reign
of sin is ended; a broken world has been
renewed and man is once again made whole.’
~ From the fourth Preface of the Mass of Easter
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
We come once again to this celebration of the awesome feast of Easter in what many in our society would say are extremely difficult times. We look at an economy which is causing many people pain and hardship; wars around the globe continue to plague us; and a sense of the breakdown of cherished values fosters disenchantment. It is quite understandable to see many people tempted to lose hope.
Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, tells us that the central truth of our faith teaches us that there is a “future for every human being; the cry for unending life which is a part of every person is indeed answered.” The resurrection of Christ offers to us hope — not only for a future in eternal life, but also in a promise that through Jesus, new life, new possibilities, new beauty and new security are indeed possibilities right here and now in our earthly existence. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must never lose that hope; as we have been taught from our earliest days, Good Friday is not the end of the story: the Cross leads to Easter, to life where we can rejoice in the Risen Lord.
May this Easter be a source of hope for all in our diocese. Let us rejoice in the wonder of Jesus alive!
I invoke God’s blessings upon you all.
In the Lord’s Peace,
+ Most Rev. Robert E. Guglielmone
Bishop of Charleston