Easter fires and Paschal candles have been lit all over the world, and the shout of “Alleluia” has been sung from east to west.
Now Eastertide is upon us, let us not forget the vital part played by the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.
It was from Our Lady that Christ took flesh and she stood beside Him at the foot of the Cross, eventually receiving His lifeless body into her arms.
Although the scriptures tell us that the Risen Lord appeared to the women, to St Peter and to the Apostles, there is no account of Him appearing to his Mother, Mary. Even so there is a tradition, going back to the Church’s earliest days, that Our Lord also appeared to His Blessed Mother.
On Easter Monday 1994 Pope St John Paul II referred to this tradition. He said that “the scriptures do not mention this [visit] but it is a conviction based on the fact that Mary was Christ’s Mother, His faithful Mother, His dearest Mother.”
It is hard to imagine that the Lord would not have comforted and consoled His grieving Mother, that He would not have confirmed the news she must have heard about the empty tomb and His rising from the dead.
Now He does the same for us – He is with us in the celebration of every Mass and so we encounter the presence of the risen Lord. He enlightens us and enables us to believe with deeper conviction that His resurrection has brought new life into the world. He gives us again the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen us and enable us to live the new life we have received.
This truth continues to hold a fascination for those who do not yet share our faith and their curiosity is our invitation to evangelize. I was very struck by the leading article in a Good Friday edition of one of our national newspapers a few years ago, which focused on Christian faith.
It read: “Jesus’ followers were convinced not that he appeared to them in a vision after his death but that he conquered suffering and death. This is not, in Christian doctrine, an allegory but a historical conviction… The Christian message is at once… hopeful… but also a constant challenge.”
That is a challenge to which we must rise today with fresh energy, vision and enthusiasm, once again enlightened, inspired and empowered by our faith in the Risen Christ and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we have received from Him. May the prayers of Our Lady, joyful in the resurrection of her Son, bring Him closer to us and to our families this Eastertide. God bless you.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary: Alleluia!
For the Lord is risen indeed: Alleluia!