On Sunday we celebrated the feast of Easter in which through the resurrection of Jesus Christ a new springtime has been introduced into the life of every believer.
The heart and soul of the church is to enable all of us to open our hearts to the generous love of Jesus, who reveals how passionately our God loves us.
There is no superficiality in this love. It is real.
And because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all of us are made new again and can be like the Lord Jesus in so many different ways, bringing new life to so many.
As we approach the great feast of Easter, I am going to share a genuine prayer of forgiveness which was the prayer of an unknown woman, found on a piece of wrapping paper in Ravensbruck concentration camp at the end of World War II:
O Lord, Remember not only the men and women of goodwill, but also those of ill will. But do not remember the suffering they inflicted upon us; remember the fruits we brought — thanks to this suffering, our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of this; and when they come to judgment, let all the fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.
This, my dear friends, in this great Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, is the possibility that we all can realize when we celebrate the passion and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in our lives.
We have that possibility of new life in the possibility of showing forth genuine love.
Happy Easter to everyone in the archdiocese.
