"Jesus is risen!" This truth is the fundamental fact of Christian life. "If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain" (1 Cor 15:14), says St Paul. The victory of Jesus who conquered death, is the light of hope in the life of every Christian.

Jesus came into this world to give life to mankind. "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly "(Jn 10:10).

In order to guide mankind to this abundant life, Jesus had to pass through the indescribable passion of Good Friday and the death of Holy Saturday, and enter the hope and life of Easter Sunday.

It is when we make the life given by the risen Jesus our own, that the thirst of the human soul to pass from death to life and from mortality to immortality is satisfied. This becomes possible when we walk along the way of the cross considered by the world as sheer folly. If we must have the strength to face the afflictions and crosses of life and the agony of death bravely, we must believe in the One who has risen from the dead.

Every Christian is called to share the resurrection-event of Easter Sunday. St Luke's Gospel presents the holy women looking for Jesus in the tomb where he was buried. Their minds at this time were filled with grief and despair. The angel asked them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" (Lk 24:5).

Let us look for Jesus, who triumphed over suffering and death, in the abundance of life he gives. Let us acknowledge our faith in the risen Jesus when we are stricken with grief, when we have to face failure and our hopes are dashed to the ground. Thus we too can arise and proclaim the joy and peace that Easter gives!