First of all I wish you all a happy Easter and that you will know the joy of the risen Christ in your lives.   Each year Archbishop Philip Freier sends around the diocese his Easter message.  I found the following words from him quite encouraging

‘Too often, life’s burdens can lead us to despair. One of the beauties of Easter is that it shows how despair never owns the last word. After Jesus’s death the disciples’ first reaction is despair. They become consumed by hopelessness and their powerlessness to save Jesus from cruelty and suffering. Their focus turns inward as they are gripped by their own fear and anxiety. But soon as they encounter the truth of Jesus’s resurrection, the disciples’ despair turns to joy.

Christians are Easter people in the fullest sense. We have been bound to a new relationship with God and with each other through these Easter events. We know and live in daily gratitude of what a gift we have been given through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Our hope is in and through Jesus.’

Our joy is that we can encounter by faith the risen Lord Jesus.  This is why there is always hope no matter how dark our lives are. May our lives be turned upwards towards Christ and outwards towards each other as we rejoice in the Lord.