It is quite a long time now, that humanity seems to be immersed into economic problems and a kind of mechanical give and take attitudes with each other and with the whole world. Time is being absorbed  by the frantic speed of work, of careers, together with the worries of tomorrow and the ones that cover the years to come. We have nearly no time to think about our spiritual essence, or maybe about our disposition at home or at work. The world, in its progress, has made a wonderful and glorious way to communications, to health, media etc. History is continuing to write the glorious moments of nations and also the troublesome ones.

Life seems to pass so quickly!

In these conditions, more than several times, the ones that are suffering either poverty of all kinds, injustice, the ones that are seriously ill, the lonely, the ones that fear the bullying of power and its agents of arrogance and envy, the ones of different beliefs, and many other family members of humanity, have to bear situations that surely go beyond their control.

It is also positive to see so many people working hard in various institutions or groups that are seriously dedicated to helping the wounded humanity to recover from such conditions and help the afflicted to taste life, the true life with the hand of a real, sincere and honest love.

Maybe it’s time to stop the coach for a while and try to reflect on our life, on the life of creation and on all its abundance, on our neighbour, on the members of our family, our friends, on the ones that may need our attention, on those who passed away and have done a great deal to the world and maybe, to ourselves………. even if many times, their names and deeds are not written gloriously in the history of the world, but their names are written in the book of eternal life in Heaven.

All the wounds of humanity, be it individually, socially or global, and  the pain around these conditions, were carried by the Lord Jesus Christ in His passion and on the Cross. Jesus died for the whole of humanity with our wounds, with our sins, with our illnesses and with our mistakes, and honestly speaking, some  are really painful! We were redeemed through the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Son of the living God. The Risen Lord heals us  and saves us all. The Resurrection of Christ our Lord is our hope. (St. Augustine). The Church in its Liturgy of the Holy Week enlightens us on our being truly disciples of Jesus the Lord, our Redeemer.

We can experience the Light of the Risen Lord and live our Redemption when we learn how to forgive, just as the Lord has forgiven us and when we are forgiven by our neighbour; when in our sufferings, we meet the healing power of Faith and prayer, both gifts granted to us by the merciful Lord God; when, through the blessed Sacraments in the heart of the Church, we are enriched with the presence of the Blessed Trinity; when, respecting creation, we realise the infinite Love of God who is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

In other words, we can realise that God loves us so much, when we put aside the noise, the speed and the bottleneck of our worries and try to hear the Creator whispering in our heart, giving also attention, and duly act according to Jesus’ teachings, to my neighbour’s needs, always and everywhere. This is true freedom. This is the freedom Christ gave us.

Let us pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary that through our participation in the Holy Eucharist we can become true witnesses of Charity and with our good acts we can conquer  evil, ( His Holiness Benedict XVI), thus imitating Jesus himself.

May you all have a Blessed and a Happy Easter !

Fr. Sandro Overend OFM
Minister Provincial