As Bishop Barron says: “The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the Gospel, the euangelion, the Good News. Everything else is commentary.” St. Paul states the same truth in First Corinthians: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith.” (15:13-14)

How fitting that we celebrate Christ’s resurrection in the springtime, the season of new beginnings. We who believe that Jesus has risen and is Lord share in this resurrection to new life. When we enter Church on Easter Sunday, we are greeted with signs of new life: Easter lilies and the sounds of Alleluias ringing out.

Our churches have welcomed new members at the Easter Vigil, which is a reminder that we are a community of believers. We encounter, in each of the newly-baptized, a new Christian — a miracle of God’s redeeming grace! He is present in each of them as he is present also in the family and loved ones with whom we gather for Easter dinner. In the same way that the first witnesses to the Resurrection were commissioned to spread the Gospel, so are we called to be witnesses to God’s presence and work in our lives by being Christ to others. Let us give God thanks and praise for the gift of eternal life, and then live each day so as to be worthy of such a gift.

With Easter joy, we echo the words of John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn 1:29)