It is difficult to believe that we are celebrating another Easter in lockdown with level 5 restrictions. For over a year now we have gone through a year of difficulty and trials. People just want to get back to where they can meet family and friends for chats, catch up on news, have meals together, hug, laugh and cry together, celebrate all the important occasions such as birthdays and everything else they have missed out on. Many just want to get back to Mass and to be part of the faith community again. As one man said to me recently that “there is an emptiness in his life not being able to go to Mass”.

There is new life all around us. The primroses are flowering and the trees are greening up as the buds open up. The days are longer and the sunshine has brightened everything up.   There are signs of easing of restrictions beginning later in the month. The numbers being vaccinated go up each week and will continue to rise as more vaccines become available. There seems to be an end in sight.

The message of Easter is about new life, the new life of the Risen Lord and the new life that comes to us through the renewal of our baptismal promises. As has been said by Pope Francis and other religious leaders in recent times: “We can’t go back to our old lives before the pandemic. We have to move forward to embrace the new world we are entering”. People showed a new spirit of generosity towards family, friends and neighbours. There is a new appreciation of people’s work not only in health care but also in the retail trade and transportation. Let us not lose this new spirit but build upon it.

May the Light of Risen Christ, give hope, encouragement and strength to us all this Easter.

Fr. Kevin