“We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!” (St. Pope John Paul II)
We say Amen. In this challenging time today, every Christian hopes in Jesus Christ, the Sure Foundation, Our Rock and our Stronghold. The Easter celebration brings all of us to the story of victory as what St. Paul said,
“… Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
Whatever blessings or crises brought forth into our life today, our faith in the Lord never waivers. We can reflect on the father of faith, Abraham and about his trials in life yet he became a friend of God (James 2:23). Jesus offers friendship if we follow His commandment. Like Jesus Christ, we can and we will continue to call God, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6) – a father with open arms and full of blessings. He will be a father if we, removing our pride and with full submission, become his children seeking full attention. Man is a beggar before God (CCC 2559).
Continuing the message of St. Pope John Paul II (JPII), “We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery – the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!”.
St. JPII also said that this faith will grow through unselfish love and this moves towards our neighbor. The message of Easter will be felt especially by the people believing in it. It is in speaking that some would know the resurrected Christ. It is by our unselfish love for each other that the Gospel will also be felt. He said, “We are not looking for a shallow joy but rather a joy that comes from faith, that grows through unselfish love, that respects the “fundamental duty of love of neighbor, without which it would be unbecoming to speak of Joy”.
St. JPII further said that Jesus came to teach us what it means to be fully happy and fully human. We remember when Jesus was telling his disciples that the joy will be complete if we love one another as he has loved us. We can share forgiveness, happiness, mercy, and things to everyone who needs it so that God’s love will be felt by many.
Faith is our source of joy and that joy will rightly say – He is risen!
If our faith wavers, we will remind ourselves – He is risen!
If they ask why we do the things we do – He is risen!
by Bro. Rem Sagarino
/h4/blockquote We%20say%20Amen.%20In%20this%20challenging%20time%20today,%20every%20Christian%20hopes%20in%20Jesus%20Christ,%20the%20Sure%20Foundation,%20Our%20Rock%20and%20our%20Stronghold.%20The%20Easter%20celebration%20brings%20all%20of%20us%20to%20the%20story%20of%20victory%20as%20what%20St.%20Paul%20said,img%20class=size-medium%20wp-image-41659%20alignleft%20src=https://smcfilipino.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/jesus-resurrection-png-png-image-png-jesus-is-risen-1024_1206-255x300.png%20alt=%20width=255%20height=300%20/“…%20Christ%20has%20been%20raised%20from%20the%20dead,%20the%20first%20fruits%20of%20those%20who%20have%20fallen%20asleep.%20For%20as%20by%20a%20man%20came%20death,%20by%20a%20man%20has%20come%20also%20the%20resurrection%20of%20the%20dead.%20For%20as%20in%20Adam%20all%20die,%20so%20also%20in%20Christ%20shall%20all%20be%20made%20alive.”%20(strong1%20Corinthians%2015:20-22/strong)Whatever%20blessings%20or%20crises%20brought%20forth%20into%20our%20life%20today,%20our%20faith%20in%20the%20Lord%20never%20waivers.%20We%20can%20reflect%20on%20the%20father%20of%20faith,%20Abraham%20and%20about%20his%20trials%20in%20life%20yet%20he%20became%20a%20friend%20of%20God%20(James%202:23).%20Jesus%20offers%20friendship%20if%20we%20follow%20His%20commandment.%20Like%20Jesus%20Christ,%20we%20can%20and%20we%20will%20continue%20to%20call%20God,%20“Abba,%20Father”%20(Galatians%204:6)%20–%20a%20father%20with%20open%20arms%20and%20full%20of%20blessings.%20He%20will%20be%20a%20father%20if%20we,%20removing%20our%20pride%20and%20with%20full%20submission,%20become%20his%20children%20seeking%20full%20attention.%20emMan%20is%20a%20beggar%20before%20God/em%20(CCC%202559).Continuing%20the%20message%20of%20St.%20Pope%20John%20Paul%20II%20strong(JPII)/strong,%20“emWe%20do%20not%20pretend%20that%20life%20is%20all%20beauty.%20We%20are%20aware%20of%20darkness%20and%20sin,%20of%20poverty%20and%20pain.%20But%20we%20know%20Jesus%20has%20conquered%20sin%20and%20passed%20through%20his%20own%20pain%20to%20the%20glory%20of%20the%20Resurrection.%20And%20we%20live%20in%20the%20light%20of%20his%20Paschal%20Mystery%20-%20the%20mystery%20of%20his%20Death%20and%20Resurrection./em%20strong“We%20are%20an%20Easter%20People%20and%20Alleluia%20is%20our%20song!”/strong.%5Bcaption%20id=attachment_41660%20align=alignright%20width=230%5Dimg%20class=wp-image-41660%20size-medium%20src=https://smcfilipino.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/John-Paul-II-Day-230x300.png%20alt=%20width=230%20height=300%20/%20ctto%5B/caption%5DSt.%20JPII%20also%20said%20that%20this%20faith%20will%20grow%20through%20unselfish%20love%20and%20this%20moves%20towards%20our%20neighbor.%20The%20message%20of%20Easter%20will%20be%20felt%20especially%20by%20the%20people%20believing%20in%20it.%20It%20is%20in%20speaking%20that%20some%20would%20know%20the%20resurrected%20Christ.%20It%20is%20by%20our%20unselfish%20love%20for%20each%20other%20that%20the%20Gospel%20will%20also%20be%20felt.%20He%20said,%20“emWe%20are%20not%20looking%20for%20a%20shallow%20joy%20but%20rather%20a%20joy%20that%20comes%20from%20faith,%20that%20grows%20through%20unselfish%20love,%20that%20respects%20the%20“fundamental%20duty%20of%20love%20of%20neighbor,%20without%20which%20it%20would%20be%20unbecoming%20to%20speak%20of%20Joy”./emSt.%20JPII%20further%20said%20that%20Jesus%20came%20to%20teach%20us%20what%20it%20means%20to%20be%20fully%20happy%20and%20fully%20human.%20We%20remember%20when%20Jesus%20was%20telling%20his%20disciples%20that%20the%20joy%20will%20be%20complete%20if%20we%20love%20one%20another%20as%20he%20has%20loved%20us.%20We%20can%20share%20forgiveness,%20happiness,%20mercy,%20and%20things%20to%20everyone%20who%20needs%20it%20so%20that%20God’s%20love%20will%20be%20felt%20by%20many.p%20style=text-align:%20centerstrongFaith%20is%20our%20source%20of%20joy%20and%20that%20joy%20will%20rightly%20say%20–%20He%20is%20risen!/strong/pp%20style=text-align:%20centerstrongIf%20our%20faith%20wavers,%20we%20will%20remind%20ourselves%20–%20He%20is%20risen!/strong/pp%20style=text-align:%20centerstrongIf%20they%20ask%20why%20we%20do%20the%20things%20we%20do%20–%20He%20is%20risen!/strong/p p%20style=text-align:%20rightby%20Bro.%20Rem%20Sagarino/p){kind=link}