“The Resurrection is not merely a consolation for the soul, not just a beautiful thought that comforts us for a moment, but is life itself—the true life,” said Archbishop Atanasie of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in his Easter pastoral letter.
In his message, the archbishop emphasised that the Resurrection transforms and gives meaning to what once seemed perishable and lost in history.
“In Christ, the time of creation and the time of salvation are mysteriously united. The cycle of nature, with its alternation of life and death, and human history, marked by the fall and expectation, are assumed and brought together in the Person of the Incarnate Word. Through the Resurrection, what was subject to corruption is opened to incorruption, and what seemed lost in history discovers its meaning within the economy of salvation.”
“From now on, time is no longer merely the measure of passing—even if relative—but becomes the space of the working of grace,” he added.
The mystery of life
The hierarch explained that, in the light of Christ’s Resurrection, “even that which causes deep pain—profound suffering—acquires a salvific meaning. From now on, human history is no longer a path that ends in non-existence, but a way that opens towards the Kingdom, towards eternal life.”
According to the archbishop, the mystery of life lies in leaving behind the tomb of sin and allowing Christ to enter it. “In each of us there is a tomb—a place of the heart where unspoken wounds, the shadows of our falls and silently borne sufferings have gathered.”
“The mystery of life is to allow Christ to bring us out of our inner tomb, as He did with Lazarus (cf. John 11)—a profound exchange: man leaves his tomb precisely so that the Lord may take his place—and from the depths of that tomb the light of the Resurrection begins to shine,” he said.
Christian family needs faith and stability
Drawing on the example of the Myrrh-bearing Women, Archbishop Atanasie said that the same faith and steadfastness are needed today in the Christian family.
“The same strength of faith and the same steadfastness of love are required today in the Christian family. In a world where bonds are weakening and fear seeks to enter the heart, the loving grandmother, the Christian mother, the faithful wife, the woman of prayer become, like the Myrrh-bearing Women, bearers of light in their homes,” he said.
“The family that seeks Christ and remains in obedience to Him, even in times of turmoil, will feel that the Resurrection is not a word spoken once a year, but the power that keeps it united. In the light of the Living One, the bond between spouses is purified, patience deepens, and faith is naturally passed from heart to heart.”
“Where Christ is confessed and lived, family life does not rely solely on human strength, but on grace which renews, sanctifies and strengthens all things,” Archbishop Atanasie added.
Photo: roarch.org.uk
