A Happy Easter to all our families. I hope the Easter break was one filled with peace and joy.

We often associate the celebration of Easter on one particular day, Sunday. However, the Easter Season begins on Easter Sunday and lasts 50 days, up until Pentecost. A fifty-day celebration, celebrating the joy and hope of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Pope Francis’ traditional 2024 Easter message (“Urbi et Orbi” To the City and to the World), he used the image of the stone sealing the tomb of Jesus to explain the heavy stones that block the ‘hope of humanity.’

“the stone of war, the stone of humanitarian crises, the stone of human rights violations, the stone of human trafficking, and other stones as well. Like the women disciples of Jesus, we ask one another: “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (cf. Mk 16:3). The Pope answers this question by reminding us that it is “He (Jesus) alone has the power to roll away the stones that block the path to life. He, the living One, is himself that path. He is the Way: the way that leads to life, the way of peace, reconciliation, and fraternity. He opens that path, humanly impossible, because he alone takes away the sin of the world and forgives us our sins.”

Pope Francis - Urbi Et Orbi, 31 March 2024

May we this Easter season reflect on the barriers that hinder peace and fraternity worldwide, so that we can be people of love and compassion.