by Leela Ramdeen, Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice
“Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum – I arose, and am still with you; you have set your hand upon me.”
On behalf of members of CCSJ, I wish you all a happy and holy Easter. Christ has risen, Alleluia! Let us say like St Augustine: “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.”
Today we celebrate the most important event in the history of humankind – the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The resurrection is central to our faith as Catholics. By rising from the dead, Jesus freed us from original sin. That is what we call “radical love”. As today’s Psalm 118 says, the Lord’s “steadfast love endures forever.”
His triumph over death and the grave brought us new life; “death is swallowed up in victory” (St Paul). Jesus came so that we may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10).
This year my alma mater, Holy Faith Convent (HFC), celebrates its 60th Anniversary. Recently, I attended a meeting there with members of the Past Pupils Association to plan a major event on October 2, 2011. As I drove to my next meeting I found myself singing in my car the hymn we used to sing – in Latin – at lunchtime at HFC. It is appropriate today, Easter Sunday. Sing along if you know it:
Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia. (O Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia, Because the Son you were chosen to bear, alleluia, Has risen as he foretold, alleluia! Pray for us, oh, pray to God, alleluia!) (Rev Raymond Avery, OSB).
When I used to teach in London I recall putting on an annual Easter play and the children would sing out loudly: “The angel rolled the stone away”. Each year Easter gives us an opportunity to commit ourselves to roll away the stones of sin from our lives and walk in the new life that Jesus gave us when he died for us on the cross.
Our Government recently launched a Mentorship programme in T&T. What greater mentor is there than Christ, the light of the world (John 1:9; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:46)? Let Him light up our world so that we may build His Kingdom here on earth. Each Catholic should be a mentoring disciple.
Through baptism we became “sharers in Christ’s death and Resurrection” (Pope Benedict XVI). Remember the theme of the Holy Father’s Lenten Message: You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him (Col 2:12).
We were raised with him for a purpose – to be His body in the world today. The journey through Lent to Easter has been a journey of conversion, to “rediscover our Baptism”. Let us say like St Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” We are the leaven in the dough; we are the living stones who must recognize that to truly live as an Easter people we need to “do” justice. We can do this by meeting the risen Christ in the differently-abled, the poor and socially excluded, the lonely, the homeless, the sick, the disaffected, the sexually abused, the alcoholic, the drug addict, the victim of domestic violence and human trafficking.
During Lent the Holy Father asked us to renounce selfishness, which, he says, is the root of violence, greed and exploitation. I recall speaking to students at a Catholic secondary school in London one Easter time. The frieze on the school wall read: “Down from the Cross, out of the grave, and into our lives.” Yet the students were constantly bullying/beating up students from a nearby school. If we believe that Jesus is still alive, let us welcome Him into our lives and strive to live holy, virtuous lives.
The resurrection is a sign of hope for humankind. Our world and our T&T society need healing. We were spiritually renewed during Lent and we are further strengthened by the risen Lord. Therefore, let us go forth and play our part to heal our troubled land/world.
I end with words from a prayer in our Values and Virtues Students’ Workbook: “May my thoughts, desires and conduct always be pleasing to You, God.”
