“He has been raised…He is going before you to Galilee where you will see Him.” (Mark 16:7)

Beloved:

Peace to you all in our risen Lord!  It is a real joy and privilege to greet you at this Eastertide.

On Thursday, March 29th, I went to the Princess Margaret Hospital to minister to one of our parishioners who was scheduled to have surgery.  He has been confined to the Geriatrics Hospital for the past 28 years because of an accident which left him partly paralyzed.  His face lit up as I entered into his cubicle.  His whole demeanor was one of joy.  He always seems to have a positive attitude and to be very pleasant.  In receiving the Sacraments he was most grateful.  How is this possible?  He has obviously accepted and embraced the suffering and the Cross in his life and, therefore, is able to receive the grace to see the Risen Lord in his own flesh.  The Geriatric Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital is his Galilee.

The ringing proclamation: “He has been raised…He is going before you to Galilee where you will see Him” is the victory of the Lord Jesus as He predicted three times in the Gospel.  Galilee, Beloved, symbolizes the place of the mission to the nations.  It also symbolizes the ministry to the Gentiles, that’s us.  Galilee is the place from which the disciples and the women came: their home base, the place of their daily routine.  That’s where we encounter the Risen Lord: in the daily demands of our lives.  However, we need the eyes of faith to see Him.  Hence, the necessity for us to embrace the suffering and crosses which are in all of our lives!  In that embrace, by God’s grace, we encounter the victory of Christ’s risen presence in us, in our situations, as did our brother in the hospital.

It is our hope that you will embrace the suffering and Cross in your own lives, in whatever forms they come, so that you too will see the Risen Lord and be filled with joy, hope and new beginnings, and so be enabled to help others in doing the same.

I extend to you, Beloved, a most Blessed Easter on behalf of our Pastoral team, Fr. Nduka, Deacon Forbes, Ms. Collie and staff, Mrs. Edgecombe, Mr. Higgs and Ms. Tracey Newbold.

Alleluia!

In His Love,

(Msgr.) Preston A. Moss

Pastor