Victory over death in an age of terrorism, innocent martyrs killed daily, and millions seeking freedom from persecution is the hope of the resurrection.  Hope comes not by escape from suffering, nor is one called to embrace misery as inevitable but from the risen Lord.  We embrace hope and claim our victory over death in redemptive suffering as we offer ourselves to our Lord, our whole being to live according to his will.  Death is not foreign to life for each day there is a sense of an ending with the hope of a new beginning with the sun rise.  With each five years of life there is a physiological transformation with an ending to one stage of life and a new experience in our physical and spiritual growth and maturation.  Life stages are not a drama we pass through onto another stage but a meaningful journey of purification of mind, heart, and will for the sanctity of the soul.

Jesus is risen and he appears to his disciples with the greeting “Peace be with you”.  He breaks bread, eats fish, and appears to many.  The joy of this peace is the witness of victory over death that brings peace to live the truth with courage.  Jesus is now sending his disciples to go forth and live the truth with courage in the face of what will lead to their persecution.  Our victory comes in living the truth found in the risen Lord.  Embrace life in its goodness and in service of the greater good of humanity and the environment.  It begins with our home environment, our families, friends, and our state of life called to be holy.   Our sacred space is given within through our baptism not to be kept hidden but to shine light upon the world. 

The difference a life makes is in the embrace of love we are willing to offer to one another. It is the embrace of generosity, compassion, forgiveness, understanding, and charity to the needs of others.  The sting of death is in the seduction of a world’s relativity in action of self-justification.  Our freedom is our justification by the blood of the lamb in Christ.  Because he lives, we live the light of eternity.  Hope in the unseen is now seen through the eyes of faith and the will to embrace love with courage.  Go forth,  He is risen indeed!