Easter Message from Rev. Msgr. Stephen Salocks '80, Rector

On behalf of the seminarians, faculty, and staff of Saint John’s Seminary, I wish you and your families a blessed and joyful Easter!

Every year the prayers and scriptures of the Easter liturgy remind us of the ways that the Death and Resurrection of our Lord is the climax of salvation history. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a triumph over death. It unlocks for us the path to eternity. It is a moment in history with eternal consequences, and it offers us hope, a promise of eternal life, and victory over sin and death. A new age has begun, and the Holy Spirit is now the presence and power that guides and energizes our lives and our faith.

All four Gospels agree that, on that very first Easter morning, those who went to the tomb of the Lord Jesus found it empty. This year the Gospel of Luke provides the account of the empty tomb at the Easter Vigil, and the evangelist tells us that those visiting the tomb were told: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen” (Luke 24:5). Before the same chapter in Luke’s Gospel concludes, disciples on the road to Emmaus will have recognized our risen Lord in the breaking of the bread, and the disciples as a group will be testifying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34).

"The Lord is risen, indeed" became a traditional Easter greeting, and, down through the ages, it has been part of the Paschal greeting exchanged among Christians. Derived from the Gospel of Luke, it is one of the earliest confessional traditions that affirms the belief in Jesus Christ's resurrection. The greeting is typically given in response to "Christ is risen!" or similar affirmations.

From the very first Easter, down through the centuries, up to the present day, Christians have witnessed to our Lord’s Resurrection with similar concise confessions. Saint Paul could tell the Romans, “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Even today, we engage in these brief but substantial confessional statements in the memorial acclamation at Mass. After the Consecration, the priest says, “The mystery of faith,” and we respond, “We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection, until you come again.” The proclamation of the good news of Christ’s Resurrection takes place not only at Easter but also at every day of our lives and especially when we come together at Mass.

This year, I have been particularly drawn to the writings and reflections of Saint Paul. In the Second Reading for the Mass on Easter Day, Paul speaks to the Colossians and to us: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).

More than simply an isolated moment in history, Christ’s resurrection has inaugurated a new age in which believers have become participants. We are not meant to be mere spectators or contemplators of Christ’s resurrection. By virtue of our baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are called and enabled to be personally committed. At the Easter Vigil, we hear Paul referring to baptism and telling the Romans and us that, having been buried with Christ in death, we are called to live a new life with him (Romans 6:4-5). Then, back at Mass on Easter morning, Paul makes it clear that we are already living our lives with the risen Lord, and we are called to live our lives – right now – as those who have risen with Christ. We are called to “set our minds on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). There is a very good reason, then, for welcoming the newly baptized and for the rest of us to renew our baptismal promises at Easter: It reminds us all of who we are and what we share in and with the Risen Christ.

Today, we join our prayers with yours as together we rejoice in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. May all those “who have risen with Christ in Baptism through faith, by living in a right manner on this earth, be united with him in the homeland of heaven” (cf. The Roman Missal, “Solemn Blessing at Easter Time,” Catholic Book Publishing, 2011, 529).

May our joyful proclamation continue to ring out:

Jesus Christ is risen! The Lord is risen, indeed!