diocese of fall river
teanc 0 VOL. 23, NO. 15
FALL RIVER, MASS., THURSDAY, APRIL 1'2, 1979
20c, $6 Per Year
I will draw You from all riverbeds, streams, springs
of
light,
of
from the roots and the plains -
of
trees the sun.
from "Easter Vigil and Other Poems" by Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II)
EASTER MESSAGE Dearly Beloved in Christ, "Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world." This acclamation, sung so frequently at the Eucharist, takes on added meaning on this beautiful Easter Feast. As our Holy Father writes in his recent encyclical letter, the risen Lord is, indeed, "the Redeemer of Man" and "the center of the universe and history." (Redemptor Hom~ inis, No.1.) In Christ Jesus, a new age has dawned. By his cross and resurrection, the Lord has freed us from sin, he has brought healing to our wounded nature and restored to mankind the hope of everlasting life. He is the Savior of the world. My dear people, prayerful meditation on the profound significance of these Easter mysteries should be a source of much joy and consolation for all believers and for the whole world as well. Easter is, indeed, a day which the Lord has made. At the same time, the Feast of Easter beckons us to let the power flowing from the Lord's cross and resurrection direct
our daily lives. Since we have beeR raised up in company with Christ, we must set our hearts on things of heaven "where Christ is seated at God's right hand." We must put to death whatever in our nature is rooted in earth. (Colossians 3:1, 5.) And so the Church appropriately asks us today to renew the promises of our baptism, to reject sin and profess our faith in Christ Jesus. This Easter finds us in the midst of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of our Diocese. As Shepherd of the Church of Fall River,¡ it is my prayer that our risen Lord and Savior will restore and renew us all this Easter, leading us to serve him ever more faithfully in his holy Catholic Church. A blessed and joyous Easter to one and all throughout the Diocese. Faithfully yours in Christ,
Bishop of Fall River
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