Christ is Risen! Truly, He is Risen. The Editor and writers of igNation offer our readers Easter greetings of joy. May you and your families and loved ones know the consolation of the Risen Lord! It’s a gift that is always needed.

I’m shamelessly borrowing the idea behind this post. The Easter appeal from Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) is based on a verse from the sixth chapter of Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans. It deals with walking in the newness of life.

The appeal offers illustrations of how newness is being expressed in two specific works supported by CJI: livelihood and training for marginalized women through the work of Hayden Hall in Darjeeling, India; and community-based conflict resolution at the Indigenous Rights Centre in Chiapas, Mexico

Marginalized women, men and children are offered new life through many other projects supported by CJI and its partners.

This is a theme that goes beyond projects in the Global South. We are all in need of newness of life. Easter offers us an invitation to walk with Jesus in a life renewed by his Resurrection. The Risen Lord makes all things new.

The season of Easter gives us hope in a world with so many unpredictable realities: COVID and the dramatic impact it has had on every aspect of life, the present situation in Ukraine, the continuing crises in Afghanistan and Syria, our First Nations communities, the reality of climate change, the many challenges facing families, those individuals caught in addictive behavior, personal health struggles, rising inflation, and so on.

I cannot imagine that there is a reflective person alive who is not aware of the need for newness. The need goes beyond financial security and power.

The disciples and friends of Jesus also knew that experience of a real longing for something new to rely upon in the days after Good Friday. We hear something of their sadness and dejection in the account of the Road to Emmaus. The Easter Gospels tell us about the amazement they experienced as the women discovered the empty tomb at Easter.

It’s summed up quite succinctly in the words of Mary Magdalene, “I have seen the Lord.” The disciples on the road to Emmaus proclaim, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?”

Where are we being invited to see the Lord? What newness is set before us? It could even be expressed through the simple hope of those daffodils poking through the soil, after a long winter. Where have we experienced that Easter joy?

What gives you hope in an increasingly crazy world? There is no need for profound moments of transformation. It could even be that simple experience of being surprised by hope and joy. What have been some unexpected Easter moments of surprise and hope for you? Can you be open, if you have no signs of hope right now?

Happy Easter!!