On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark . . . (John 20:1)
April 22, 2025
Hello Everyone –
The great feast of Easter is celebrated for more than one day. In fact, it is to be celebrated with the same level of exuberance and intensity for eight days. Hence, it is with great joy that I greet you on this Tuesday in the octave of Easter!!
But truth be told Easter cannot be contained in a day or a week or even in a season. Instead, Easter is a way of being in the world. What follows are the words I shared at the Mass on Easter Sunday.
Easter begins in the dark — it always does!
In all accounts of the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is still dark. She feels the predawn darkness around her and within her — a void of hopelessness — a crushing sense of loss — grief that cannot be articulated in words.
Easter begins in the dark of night. If you have ever kept vigil — worried to death at the bedside of a loved one — if you have ever been unable to sleep because of what was to come the next day — if you have ever been overwhelmed by doubt or grief — Easter has dawned in your life. God has been with you through those long hours – God has embraced you in your isolation — God has come with the morning.
Easter begins in the dark earth. Easter is a seed planted in the spring soil that struggles through the winter hardness to bloom. If you’ve ever struggled to change or worked hard to remake your life in the wake of loss or devastation — Easter has dawned in your life. Easter is that light that reveals death is not the final ending but the passageway to the God who first breathed life into you.
Easter begins with ashes. If you’ve ever been swallowed up in hopelessness or fear — or if you’ve ever been paralyzed by hurt or ill-treatment — Easter has dawned in your life. No matter how hard we fall (and we all do) — no matter how broken we are – no matter how deep the chasm into which we’ve sunk — Easter is the Risen One walking in our midst – in the compassion of a loved one — in the support of friends — in that unexpected act of kindness committed by a complete stranger.
Easter begins in the darkness of night — in the seeming finality of the earth — in the hopelessness of ashes. But Easter moves beyond those states. Easter is more than doctrines and dogmas. Look for Easter in the small candle that defies the darkness — or in the small flower that pierces the cold April earth — or in the hand that reaches out to you when all seems hopeless.
Easter is that eternal morning after the darkest, stormiest night. Easter is the stubborn hope of a God who re-creates us and our world until his dream of a humanity bound together in his love is realized.
Easter is the Risen Christ in our midst — here and now — re-creating us in his image — healing us and raising us up.
Easter is now!
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
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