ARCHBISHOP TERRENCE PRENDERGAST, S.J. MESSAGE FOR EASTER 2008

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Our Easter celebration begins with a proclamation of joy. "Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God's throne! Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!"

God's plan was to rescue people from sin, restoring them to friendship with Himself. This has taken place in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! God has come to us in the Incarnate Son to give us hope of eternal life.

Our new life in Christ was proclaimed by the apostles to whom our Risen Lord appeared. Among the eyewitnesses was St. Peter, who said: "God raised Jesus on the third day and allowed him to appear… to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead" (Acts 10: 40-41).

The Church continues to repeat with amazement the apostles' message that Jesus, the crucified one, is risen from the dead and remains with his people.

Risen and alive, Jesus comes to us in the Easter Sacrament of Holy Communion. Today in our churches, we recognize him "in the breaking of the bread" (Luke 24:35).

In mid-June representatives of the universal Church will gather in Quebec for the 49th International Eucharistic Congress to explore this mystery of God coming to his people in Holy Communion with its theme, "The Eucharist: God’s Gift for the Life of the World".

In his Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis ("The Sacrament of Charity"), Pope Benedict XVI tells of Christ’s presence in the Mass and at Eucharistic adoration:

"The sacrament of charity, the Holy Eucharist is the gift that Jesus Christ makes of himself, thus revealing to us God’s infinite love for every man and woman….

"In the sacrament of the altar, the Lord meets us, men and women created in God’s image and likeness (cf. Genesis 1:27) and becomes our companion along the way. In this sacrament, the Lord truly becomes food for us, to satisfy our hunger for truth and freedom" (Sacramentum Caritatis, #1-2).

This explains the central importance of the Sunday Eucharist in feeding our spiritual life. Our faith is endangered when we lose the desire to share in the Eucharist and to experience at Mass the victory Christ has gained for us.

Today, as we celebrate our victory with Christ, I invite you to renew your commitment to sharing in Sunday Mass—the little Easter—every Sunday without fail. This is the sure path to the holiness God wishes each of us to have.

God bless you and Happy Easter!

Sincerely in Christ,

+Terrence Prendergast, S.J.

Archbishop of Ottawa