Tragedy in Boston shows us meaning of Paschal Mystery

Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord is risen! The Easter season continues to bring to our minds and hearts the fact that God loved the world so much that he sent His only son.

Christ loved us so much that He suffered and died for us on the cross and rose from the dead.  He loved us so much that He left the memorial of this mystery present in the Holy Eucharist, which we are called to every Sunday to celebrate and to incorporate into our lives.

This is called the Paschal Mystery, the mystery of Christ dying and rising in the world today, dying and rising in our own personal lives.

The tragedies that we witnessed in Boston at the end of the Boston Marathon again bring this mystery to light. The tragedy of violence and hatred continue to live on, unfortunately, in our society. This is an expression of the death that Christ died for all of us. But we also experienced the resurrection in seeing so many people gather together to assist, to help, to console, to bring hope to others. Christ is also risen.

His mystery incorporates all of these events in human life and human society. This is what gives us hope.

As we face tragedies in our world today let us be reminded always that Christ gave his life for all of these and as we see the response in the beauty of compassion and love respond deep within the human heart we know that this is a mark of Christ’s resurrection today.

As we contemplate these mysteries in the events of our world and in the events of our own lives let us be drawn closer to the mystery, which is Christ, who sheds light on every human person and every human situation.

We pray for the victims and the families of these tragedies. We also pray that our faith may grow during this Year of Faith so that we may live the Paschal Mystery in our own lives and witness to His love to our world.

May our faith grow, may our hope be alive and may our love and charity for others always be concrete and real. God bless you as we continue to live this Easter mystery and to celebrate the Easter season.