Do not delay the Joy of Encountering the Risen Lord: Easter Message 2020 of the Fr. Regent
DO NOT DELAY THE JOY OF ENCOUNTERING
THE RISEN LORD: Easter Message 2020 of the Fr. Regent
The Gospel of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ begins with the journey of the women to the tomb at dawn on the day after the Sabbath (Mt 28:5). An angel told them “Do not be afraid!” for “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed He is going ahead of you to Galilee” (v. 7). The women quickly departed and on the way, Jesus Himself met them and said: “Do not fear; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there, they will see me” (v.10). There is a sense of urgency for the Lord went ahead and the women quickly departed. It is a compelling journey from doubt into faith, from desperation into hope, from fear into love. And it all began with God’s immeasurable love for us and our willingness to take the first step towards the tomb no matter how painful it might be.
From the tomb, we are directed to move to Galilee, from the place of death to the place of the living with a tall order “Do not fear!” Galilee is the place where the disciples first met Jesus, where they heeded His call and followed Him (cf. Mt 4:18-22). To return to Galilee does not only mean to reminisce an event but to rekindle the love of God that never wavered inspite of our weakness, our sinfulness, our desertion, our denial and our betrayal.
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| Raphael, Christ's Charge to Peter, 15. |
As one College, we have reflected on the passion and death of our Lord during the Holy Week amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but the journey does not stop there. We continue to reflect on the Supreme love of God in His Resurrection. The Easter joy can never be taken from us no matter how difficult our journey might have been, no matter how long the enhanced community quarantine might take, no matter how difficulty to engage in our online classes. Our home is our Galilee, stay there and be safe for there are many people who love you. The UST Cloud Campus could be our virtual Galilee; our adjustments may be difficult but it will be instrumental to the fulfillment of our mission as scientists. We must encounter the Lord in our Galilee, in our life, and we should not delay.
Happy Easter!
Rev. Fr. Louie R. Coronel, OP
Regent, College of Science
University of Santo Tomás
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