The Lord has risen – The Lord is risen indeed …
The women brought the Good News to the disciples and followers of Jesus after they found the empty tomb. Click on the picture below to become guided to our special easter page.
Las mujeres llevaron la Buena Nueva a los discípulos y seguidores de Jesús después de encontrar la tumba vacía. Haga clic en la foto de abajo para ser guiado a nuestra página especial de Pascua.
O Lord,
Risen, alive, and full of grace.
You paid such a price that we may live in freedom today.
We worship your holy name and give thanks for your redeeming grace.
Heavenly Father,
May we drink in your tender love so that we can pour this love out to others.
Come reign in our hearts, minds, and spirits.
Holy Spirit,
We welcome you to blow through our every word, action and thought.
Come transform us on the inside so that each day we become more like our risen Lord.
Amen.
Personal thoughts of the ICDS president:
Facing the unbelievable development and very alarming situation in Eastern Europe, which could affect the rest of the world very quickly, I ask myself how to celebrate a happy feast of Easter today. Of course, I believe in the resurrection of the Lord, based on God’s unlimited love. But what is to find in the hearts of the people at the moment?
It is hard to put into words what feelings and fears are accompanying us. I will try to do it with the following words of prayer which will be closed with the words of the 13. station of the way of the cross of Rome from last Good Friday. In the hope and the wish of the resurrection for all of us …
Thousands, tens of thousands, millions affected:
Dead soldiers
Injured soldiers, some with long-term physical damage
Healthy and injured soldiers with psychological trauma
Many young men, full of hope, striving towards life,
proud to serve their country, to protect it, …
– where were they led?
Dead civilians
Injured civilians, some with long-term physical damage
Healthy and injured civilians with psychological trauma
Widows, widowers, orphans …
Uprooted, displaced, raped, beaten,
people who just wanted to live their little lives, who had dreams,
everything was taken away from them…
Relatives who do not know what is happening to their loved ones
everywhere destroyed life, destroyed homes, destroyed country …
On all sides ideologies and political interests,
Fake news and unbalanced points of view, misleading lies,
which do not have the well-being of the people in mind,
rather they are guided by power and property enrichment
and oppression, …
They are found all around, in different ways, with different faces …
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?”- My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Death is omnipresent. A life that seems to lose its value. Everything changes in a few seconds. Existence, the days, the carefree winter snow, picking up the kids from school, work, hugs, friendships…. Everything. Everything suddenly loses its value. “Where are you, Lord? Where are you hiding? We want our old life back. Why all this? What mistake have we made? Why have you abandoned us? Why have you abandoned our nations? Why have you torn our families apart in this way? Why do we no longer have the will to dream and live? Why has our land become as dark as Golgotha?” The tears have ended. Anger has given way to resignation. We know you love us, Lord, but we don’t feel that love, and it drives us crazy. We wake up in the morning and are happy for a few seconds, but then we quickly remember how difficult it will be to reconcile. Lord, where are you? Speak in the silence of death and separation and teach us to make peace, to be brothers and sisters, to rebuild what the bombs tried to destroy. (XIII station – Rome 2022)
O Lord, you are the resurrection and the life,
you are the love that makes us live.
Christian Patzl
President of the ICDS
Latest posts by Christian (Posts)
- 4. Sunday of Advent: LOVE - 21. December 2024
- Update to Congo project: “Water is Life” - 20. December 2024
- 3. Sunday of Advent: JOY - 14. December 2024
Thank you, Christian, for your very thoughtful reflection. I often think of people who do not believe in God. How sad to live without hope. The people of Ukraine are in my heart so much these days. May God have mercy on us all.
In the sure hope of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I wish you and all Salvatorians, a blessed Easter. Claire
Dear Christian. This reflection you have posted on the forum is very importuned for us all to hear. The world situation is very fragile at present and we all need to pray constantly for a resolution to the Ukraine situation.
Thank you for your thoughts
Anne Cullender