We too will rise again!

A story is narrated of two monks who spent their lives dreaming about how eternal life would be, after death.

They made a pact: The first one to die would appear to his friend the following year and, if life in heaven is as they imagined, he would simply say "taliter" (in Latin, "it is like this"). However, if eternity were different from what they thought, he would say "aliter" ("it is different").

One of them died. On the anniversary of his death, he appeared in a ray of light in his friend's cell. The living monk anxiously asked him: "Is it as we thought?"

The other moved his head and through half-closed lips said "totaliter aliter" ("totally different").

This is the beauty of God's love for us. His surprises are always more beautiful that anything that we could ever image. Such is Easter.

"Easter is a source of hope and joy for us," he said, "because the Scriptures assure us that what God did for Jesus, he will do for us. One day he will come close to our tomb - we do not know where or how this moment will be - and he will say the same thing to us as Jesus said to the dead young man: 'Son, it is I who speak: get up.' This is how we, too, will rise again."

Three or four years ago the Capuchin Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, preached these words to the Pope and his closest collaborators when he was delivering to them the retreat which prepares them for the Easter season.

Wishing each other a happy Easter is an automatic salute that most of us will this morning wish to all those we meet. The theological meaning of this phrase is profound while the implications for everyday life are enormous. Jesus' resurrection was God's greatest act of love for man, and must lead the believer to seek intimacy intensely with God.

Life on earth is a preparation for this "totaliter aliter" mentioned in the story of the two monks. Christians prepare for it by building a world that is a prelude of the life to come. Believers in Christ do not look with disdain at created reality. On the contrary; the Incarnation and Resurrection highlight the great value of creation. In the Incarnation Christ became man: i.e. a created being.

After the Resurrection, Christ - man and God - returned to the glory he enjoyed from eternity at the bosom of the Father. The Resurrection is the guarantee that those who live in the love of the Father - all of us created beings - will share the same glory.

Living in the love of the Father means building a just and peaceful world, which is worthy of the dignity of humans, created in God's image and saved by Christ's death and resurrection.

In this respect every Easter is an occasion to renew our commitment towards the attainment of such an ideal everywhere. Unfortunately on the micro-level of our own lives and that of our friends and family we are far from reaching this ideal.

The same can be said about the macro-level of national and international affairs. There is still too much suffering that should not be there. There are too many instances of hate, violence and injustice.

On the other hand the signs of the Risen Lord are many and clearly manifest on all levels. The celebration of Easter gives us strength to increase this presence. Therefore a "Happy Easter" is much more than a polite salute. It's a commitment to a different kind of living - a better kind of living.