My dear beloved people of God,

It is Sunday! I bring you a message of great joy and hope. Jesus the Christ is Risen. Happy Easter and congratulations on the best Lent ever! Yes, the best Lenten discipline ever exercised in the body of Christ the church. Forced by the adjustments we all had to make due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw ourselves giving up much more than we anticipated at the beginning of Lent.

Consider how the disciples of Jesus were grief-stricken witnessing the Crucifixion of Jesus over 2000 years ago. The events still have the same effects on us today, the new disciples of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark records Jesus' agony My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (15:34). In the midst of the suffering of God the Son, God the Father was silent. At Easter, God the Father, spoke eloquently and powerfully. He did not only raised his Son from the dead, but placed him at his right hand where he placed dominion and powers under his feet. Easter is an invitation to Faith; faith that Jesus who died on Good Friday, still lives on.

This faith teaches us that because Jesus is alive today and forever, the victory of evil over good can only be temporary. The world is confronted with yet another kind of evil. In the past months, we have witnessed the bludgeoning number of infections and death from COVID-19. The world is enveloped in darkness. Fear is dominating the hearts of men and women. Despite all efforts by various governments at containing, the virus has encircled the globe, ravaging human lives and inflicting untold pain and agony on carriers of COVID19. This virus is an invincible enemy, deadly and unaware of borders. The world is for sure experiencing a pandemic that is oblivious to many of the things we hold dear: family, faith, culture, economy and political systems.

In difficult moments such as these, we feel despair. God does not abandon us. It is important for us to anchor our hearts in the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Faith needs the attitude, and commitment to act towards the complete realization of the mystery of God's saving plan revealed in Jesus.

In the words of Pope Francis, the crisis will help to remind us once and for all that humanity is a single community. It will teach us that universal kinship is more important and critical. May I align my voice to that of the supreme Pontiff to urge you to be one another's keeper, share with the needy and pray for the afflicted.

May the Virgin Mary, the Mother of our redeemer, who suffers alongside her beloved son, intercede for us that we might be joyful in the hope we have in Christ Jesus who is risen from the dead. Yes, it's Sunday, the Risen Christ is our Hope.

Happy Easter!

Most Rev. Julius Yakubu Kundi
Catholic Bishop of Kafanchan

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