Rome April 17th, Easter 2022

«Mary of Magdala came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved». (Jn 20: 2)

Dear Sisters, Associates and Friends,

The text of John's Gospel that the liturgy offers us on Easter Sunday is the first of a series of episodes in which we will encounter the incredulity of the disciples. Faith is a tiring journey, made up of leaps forward and steps backward. The disciples - like us - do not come to believe immediately, but they will need to make a journey of questions and discoveries until they become witnesses.

Mary of Magdala is the disciple who has the courage to throw herself into the darkness. On the other hand, however, Mary's heart seems a resigned heart: she goes to the tomb looking for a dead person to cry over.

And today, who is Jesus for us: a dead man to lament or the Risen one to announce to the world?

Although it is still an incomplete, vague announcement, the fact is that it is Mary who brings the news of the empty tomb: the body of Jesus is not there. This news actually motivates the disciples to move, to run, to see. The empty tomb is not an answer, but a question. We need to seek to meet Jesus.

Peter and the beloved disciple run because their hearts have never stopped longing to meet the Master again. Peter is the image of a tired faith, marked by betrayal which still needs to travel a path of reconciliation, to be healed by the love of the Lord.

On the contrary, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who has not turned away from the cross, is capable of running fast. He is the image of a young faith, a faith in love. This disciple glimpses, does not enter, but perceives, and this is enough for him to believe!

May the Resurrection of Christ be a sign of hope and healing for our Earth, so fractured by war and violence. May we, like Mary of Magdala, announce the good news to the world.

HAPPY EASTER!

Sr. Dolores Lahr
Sr. Maria Cristina Gavazzi
Sr. Elisa Fátima Zuanazzi
Sr. Celine Kalathoor