An Easter People, a People of Hope

I was pondering deeply today, Easter Sunday, the closing prayer of the Divine Mercy Chaplet: “...that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.” I’m so moved by this mercy which brings hope. Jesus, pierced for our sins on Friday, pierces the darkness on Sunday, and we can shake off the shackles of despair. Pope John Paul II, who uttered, “We are an Easter people,” had seen the death and despair of World War II and the ruin of his country, but also himself witnessed a resurrection in human history. By virtue of Jesus’ resurrection, death and despair can never win - neither individually, nor collectively. I pray Jesus will pierce our darkness, free us from the temptation to be despondent and teach us to sing Hallelujah. In these fifty days of Easter, I pray the Lord will fill us with the virtue of hope. 

“We are an Easter people and Hallelujah is our song.”

-Pope John Paul II