{"id":35183,"date":"2024-03-28T15:48:52","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T19:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/?p=35183"},"modified":"2024-03-28T15:57:17","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T19:57:17","slug":"2024-easter-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/pt-pt\/bishops-blog\/2024-easter-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter Blessings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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2024 Easter Message<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Christ is Risen. Alleluia! At last, after preparing during six-weeks of Lent, we celebrate the joyous feast of Easter, the heart of our Christian faith. Our faith flows from our belief in the Resurrection. Christ\u2019s victory over sin and death means new life for us all. Easter is the proof of God\u2019s love for humanity and our assurance that God wants all of us to be raised up after our own death and to live with him forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We understand Easter as the passage from old to new; from darkness to light; and from suffering to joy. It is such a hope-filled and life-giving feast that we, the Church, celebrate Easter for not merely one day but for an entire 50-day season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us not miss this opportunity to enjoy, celebrate, and be inspired by all the beautiful symbols and messages the Easter season offers us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focused Prayers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In my Lenten message, I proposed we offer our Lenten sacrifices for three special intentions to help us journey through the season with a more focused purpose. What if, for the Easter season, we continue to move forward in our faith practices with either the same or three new special intentions? For whom or for what intention can you continue to offer every prayer, every sacrifice, and every act of charity during the Easter Season in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Did you experience a renewed energy in your prayer life over the last 40-plus days as you placed your attention on those things you most desire for your family, community, nation, or world? If you took my recommendation to write down your three most important intentions, go back to those now and reflect on where you saw God working in each intention. Then, write three new intentions to focus on for the next fifty days of Easter. Maybe it is the same three; whatever you choose, try to now spend time in prayer each day with the Lord, asking for His graces in each situation or circumstance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This exercise is especially significant during this year dedicated to prayer, as Pope Francis calls the whole world to focus on prayer during this year in preparation for the Jubilee Years, 2025. The celebration of this year of prayer has as the theme: \u201cTEACH US TO PRAY.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Holy Father has repeatedly emphasized that prayer is not just a devout practice, but rather is like the \u2018breathing of the soul;\u2019 it is the expression of a deep and natural need of every human being. Prayer, according to Pope Francis, is a true dialogue with God, a \u2018face to face with Him.\u2019 <\/p>\nLiving the Year of Prayer in Preparation for Jubilee 2025, pg. 17<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Easter Video Message<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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