Easter 2016
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Jesus Christ is Risen!
Let us proclaim it at all the ends of the earth and in every heart be heard the consoling voice of the Lord saying:
“Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, I am risen and will always be with you” (Lk 24:36)
The Lord is love, He is the mercy of the Heavenly Father; Love has triumphed over death and its light has dispelled the darkness. We proclaim with great joy that Jesus has risen from the dead bringing to the whole humanity love, peace, justice and forgiveness.
During the Holy Week we meditated the Passion of Christ and we ascended with Him the way to the Cross, the way to the Calvary, raising our eyes on Him who out of infinite love for us, emptied himself for our salvation, to erase our sins and to instil in us the Spirit of Truth, of Grace and Consolation.
We celebrate today the triumphant victory over sin, hatred and death of the Risen Christ who through His Incarnation, His death and resurrection has enlightened us with His eternal Light, purifying us with His fatherly love and divine mercy.
God’s mercy was revealed to us since the Genesis when the Almighty blessed everything He created and “formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life” Gen2:7 creating him “in his own image” Gen 1.27. “The Creator does not abandon us, he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us” says Pope Francis in his Encyclical Laudato Si. Out of infinite mercy, God bows daily on our sins waiting us to return to His heavenly love and peace, in order to write our name in the book of life.
God’s covenant with humanity is a testament of love, of sacrifice and a history of mercy. In Christ, the Father pours forth his boundless mercy, it is the beauty of the saving love of God made manifest in His Son who died and rose from the dead to redeem us and offer us the opportunity to repent, be converted and believe, discovering our relationship, our encounter with Him. God’s mercy transforms our hearts and enables us to become merciful in turn, inspiring us to love our neighbour and devote ourselves to what our Church’s tradition calls works of mercy.
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
In this Jubilee Year of mercy as proclaimed by the Holy Father, let us awaken our consciousness often found dormant in front of the drama of poverty and let us deepen our faith in the heart of the Gospel.
From the risen Lord we ask the grace to lighten the sufferings of our many brothers and sisters who are persecuted for his name, of all those who suffer injustice as a result of on-going conflicts and violence. We ask him to cease the pain and drama of the numerous refugees of every nation, colour and belief and restore human dignity and a peaceful co-existence between the peoples in our region, in our beloved Cyprus and in the whole world. We implore for peace, freedom and reconciliation for the good of all peoples. We entrust to the merciful Lord all our brothers who are wounded, marginalized, imprisoned, poor, sick, lonely and suffering, all the migrants and all the needy.
Strengthened by the hope of the Resurrection we pray today, tomorrow and every single day in our life, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and all the Saints, that the values of peace, love and reconciliation may reign in our humanity and that we pass over from darkness to light, from sadness to happiness and from sin to the ending life with the risen Christ. Amen
Nicosia, 1st May 2016
