So we have fasted, prayed and given up to give to others during the 40 days of Lent, leading up to the Paschal Mystery of Christ. The greatest celebration of the Church is upon us, preceded by the Triduum during which we relive and commemorate the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Easter Vigil and culminating in His resurrection and our rebirth to eternal life.

During the Vigil, we watch and wait for His resurrection, recounting the great stories of salvation history, welcoming new believers to the Church through the Sacraments of Initiation and renewing our Baptismal promises.

As we prepare to receive the Eucharist, the pinnacle of our faith is acclaimed in that one affirmation: “Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.”

During the season of Easter, we rejoice in the glory of the Resurrection, in the demonstration of God’s great love for us through the gift of His Son. We marvel at God’s never ending forgiveness. Through Jesus, the mystery of God’s promise and plan was finally revealed. We now go about our daily lives encouraged and enriched by the great Truth that there is a divine purpose to our lives and a certainty of life everlasting with God in His Kingdom.

The Easter season provides us with many opportunities to reflect on those first followers of Jesus Christ – the uncertainties they faced, their joy in knowing that Jesus rose from the dead and, finally, the strength and determination they received through the Holy Spirit. We follow the Acts of the Apostles and relive the struggles of the early Church to establish God’s Kingdom on Earth.

Let us catechists try to follow their example as we struggle to maintain God’s Kingdom in these challenging times. In the face of all the distractions, temptations, contradictions and ignorance, let us be reborn in the light of Jesus Christ and reflect this light to all in our path. Let us share His teachings and the doctrine of the Church by finding new ways to reveal God’s love for us, to reach out to the indifferent and ignorant, and to ignite that spark of God’s love which lives within us all and fan the flames to a deep understanding of His plan for each and every one of us.

The truth of God’s love, His teachings, His expectations remain the same. The change must come in us as we seek to renew our efforts to transmit the faith. We must review our methodology to overcome the challenges and to shed the light among the darkness.

It will take a great deal of effort, thought, and courage. However, with God’s help nothing is impossible. The gifts of the Holy Spirit will continue to strengthen and guide us.

Let us resume our efforts this Easter by reflecting deeply upon some aspects of this season:

• Appreciate the Light of Jesus and His teachings
• Understand the importance of the Light
• Stand in the Light of Jesus
• Reflect the Light of Jesus
• Pray and celebrate with Light.

Our reflection should always bring us back to this great truth: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3: 16-17).

– Archdiocesan Catechetical Office