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This is a very special day of the year.  It is Easter Sunday.  It is a day that has come to mean many things to many people.  In some parts of the country, it is the unofficial beginning of Spring.  There may still be some chill in the air, but the vernal equinox is past.  The days grow longer and the nights shorter.  The thermometer shows an erratic yet steady climb, and once more winter has lost its seasonal struggle with the sun.  Then again, many people think of Easter as a sort of style show.  It’s a day when people appear in their new spring finery. 

Others use Easter in a way that comes closer to the spiritual significance of the day.  They go to Church.  They attend mass.  Churches are more crowded on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday than any other days of the year.  For millions of people, these are the two Sundays of the year in which they participate in public worship.  I, for one, find that tradition more encouraging than discouraging.  It seems to me an acknowledgement of the insufficiency of our secular living.  Throughout the year, many people try to live on nothing but work and play, but at least on Easter they recognize the need for God in their lives.  That is in  itself a profound acknowledgement in the midst of a secular society. 

So Easter means different things to different people. But what does Easter mean to you? 

On Easter Sunday- 1500 years ago – St. Augustine greeted the people of his diocese with the words: “We are an Easter people and “Alleluia” is our song.”

If we are an Easter people, if “Alleluia” truly is our song, then we must share with others our joy in the Resurrection of Jesus.  Our belief in the saving presence of the Risen Lord among us here and now should not be a secret which we keep ourselves.  It is an abundant gift of God to His people which He wants us to share with all the members of our human family.  This Easter, the Lord calls each of us to be the brother or sister who touches the life of someone without hope.  He urges you and me to be a living example of love to     someone who has never heard, really heard the Good News of Jesus – that God really loves us, cares about us, will always be there for us, and will save us from whatever sorrow or suffering we may be experiencing.

Christ must be seen in us. Christ must become known through us.  Every child, every teenage, every man and woman who believes in the Risen Lord should be a sign of Christ to others.  You and I must be signs of the Risen Christ to all our neighbors.  Our Lord has sent us forth into our community to be living witnesses of His Healing Love to a world that is broken and bruised.

On behalf of all of us at Annunciation – Our Lady of Fatima, we want to wish you and your family a Blessed Easter.  Know how proud we are of you!  Thank you for all you do to bring the Risen Lord to all in our community.  God bless and love you always!