Easter message of Cardinal O'Brien

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Interior of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre

During Lent, our Holy Father asked us all to remember the heart of the Christian life: Charity.  Most especially, he said, in our concern for one another, “to stir a response in love and good works.”  It is my prayer that this Lent has been an opportunity for each of us to reflect, especially as members of the Order, how we express our concern for and solidarity with others – most especially our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land.

The reopening of the Holy Sepulchre was a grand moment of encounter between fellow Christians that at times have a strained relationship.  Yet it is the Empty Tomb that brought them together in solidarity and celebration.

It is the same Empty Tomb that we celebrate during these Easter Days.  It is the Lord’s Resurrection that raises each of us out of our own self-concerns and moves us to care also for our neighbors.  May the joys and celebrations of this Blessed Season enable us all to realize the great charity Christ has shown toward us, and so by our response in love and good works, give glory to the Father.


Edwin Cardinal O'Brien


(April 12, 2017)