Today, the Holy Day of the year, the Greatest of all Sundays, is celebrated. Easter is characterized, above all, by the joy of glorified life and the victory over death expressed most fully in the great resounding cry of Alleluia!  

All faith flows from faith in the resurrection. As the Apostle Paul preached to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, is your faith.”

Amongst today’s celebrations, bear in mind that the joy present at Easter is available beyond today and even beyond the 50 days of the Easter Season. The Church celebrates the Paschal Mystery on every Sunday. Each week there is an opportunity to meet the risen Lord in the breaking of the bread and to recall the essence of the Catholic Faith: Christ has conquered sin and death.

Easter shows us that love wins, even in the face of unimaginable suffering. Our Lord having undergone His Passion, His Death, is risen, radiant with glory! No matter how dark the world gets, the stone will be rolled away, and the Light of Christ is present.

Happy Easter to all and may God abundantly bless you and your family.

+ Frank J. Dewane

Bishop of the Diocese of Venice 

in Florida