This is a cause of great joy for you

Second Sunday of Easter

Gathering to celebrate Mass on the Octave Day of Easter we are still within the nine-day period of mourning at the death of Pope Francis last Monday. Tomorrow the Archdiocese will have its Requiem Mass for the repose of his soul celebrated here in the cathedral.

There has been a constant stream of news from Rome and many reflections on the influence of Pope Francis both on the Church and on the world stage. Last evening we were able to witness to solemn funeral rites conducted in Rome. Gathering for this Mass today we continue to hold Pope Francis in prayer.

Pope Francis, despite his seriously declining health, was determined to be present for the Easter ceremonies. While he was unable to preside at the liturgies, he wanted to be publicly seen. In particular, he wanted to greet the people who assembled for the Easter Sunday Mass and give them his blessing on Easter Sunday. He even undertook a drive through the crowds in the Popemobile. He was determined to share Easter with the faithful who had gathered. Only hours later he died.

Easter is the greatest feast of the Christian year. It is the great proclamation of the Church to every human being. Above all else our celebration of Easter is an expression of Christian joy.

St Peter reflects the joyful declaration of the Church in his first letter when he says:

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we can have a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can bever the spoilt or soiled because it is being kept for you in heaven.

This encapsulates the preaching of the first Christians and remains the centre of the Gospel. It was, when proclaimed by the first Christians, an extraordinary message that was new and fresh and bold. They proclaimed the message with evident joy. It was this joy that attracted people to listen and respond.

Our familiarity with this message can lead to a loss of appreciation of its absolutely radical nature. Our celebration of Easter each year is an opportunity of capture afresh its wonder and hope. It is a time when our anthem is “alleluia”, praise God, as we lift our hearts in deep gratitude to God for what is offered to us.

Death is not the end. God wants us to share in the beatitude of eternal life. We are offered the opportunity to behold the glory and majesty of God himself. What an extraordinary offer!

It is understandable that the disciples were slow to come to a realisation not only that Jesus had risen from the dead but its full implications for them and for all who believe. Thus, the Gospel always read on this octave day of Easter recounts the story of Thomas who needs convincing proof that Jesus had in fact risen. Upon coming to believe he has given us a beautiful formula of faith: “My Lord and my God”.

St Peter, in his letter, speaks of the joy that the first Christians experienced, saying, “This is a cause of great joy for you”. He continues: “You are filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls”.

Pope Francis reminded us of the joy of the Gospel in his first encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium, inviting us to embrace the joy of being Christian. This surely is the invitation to each of us particularly at Easter.

Pope Francis invited all to rediscover the beauty of the Christian life by a personal encounter with the risen Christ. He said,

Thanks solely to this encounter – or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being.

Easter is the ideal time each year for us to be renewed in our Christian life and allow the joy of the Gospel to flow over us, inspiring us to not only live the Christian life more completely, but also to be a witness to others around us that the way to fulness of life in this world and to enter on the path of our eternal salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.

Another important aspect of our liturgical celebration of the Second Sunday of Easter is that of Divine Mercy. The image is before us today. With streams of light flowing from the wounded heart of Christ. Rays of light that being healing to the soul.

St Peter mentioned that it was the mercy of God that has enabled us to become sons and daughters of God by means of our baptism. Our participation in the redemption won for us by Christ is mediated through the Sacrament of Baptism.

At the moment of our Baptism God the Father adopted us as his own beloved sons and daughters. It is an act of pure love, and an expression of the depths of mercy within the heart of God. We have no claim to such a dignity and the destiny that it implies. It is purely a divine initiative, an initiative of mercy.

The words of Jesus to St Faustina that on this day, a flood of mercy flows forth on those souls who open their hearts in the Sacrament of Reconciliation expresses the ultimate meaning of his death on the cross. From his pierced side will flow streams of mercy.

On this octave day of Easter let us embrace afresh the grace of being a Christian. We open our hearts to mercy and allow the joy of the Gospel to fill us.

Archbishop Julian Porteous

Sunday, 27 April 2025