Write a commentToday was an Easter Sunday like no other at Newry Cathedral. The bells rang out calling the faithful to 12 Mass but with present 'stay at home' restrictions and government directives to close Churches to the public, the normally full mid-day service lay empty with Archbishop Eamon Martin celebrating the 12 noon Mass to vacant pews, the Paschal Candle standing as a shining beacon of hope, to the side of the Altar in the stunning Cathedral.
Thanks though to the wonders of modern technology and live streaming of the ceremony over the internet, Archbishop Martin's Easter celebration was reaching a worldwide audience far greater in numbers than the Cathedral would ever hold.
Reflecting on the circumstances that the Coronavirus Pandemic has brought to our doors, Archbishop Martin in his homily said "It's heartbreaking actually to look down here on an Easter morning and see the Church empty, but I know that you are there in your homes tuning in, hundreds of thousands of people all over this country celebrating that Christ the Lord is risen. Please God we will get back to normality soon."
Homily of Archbishop Eamon Martin
We celebrate on Easter Day that Jesus our Lord is risen from the dead.
I have an early childhood memory of my mother leaving out a basin of water out in the back yard on a bright Easter Sunday morning and inviting us to look in and watch the sun dance! ‘The sun dances on Easter morning’, she told us.
It’s the kind of message of joy and hope that we all need these difficult days.
The Easter story begins in darkness and sorrow. The disciples are hidden away locked down in the upper room, isolated and feeling alone, fearing for their lives. But when Jesus rose from the dead he brought back the light of hope into the darkness of despair. The stone was rolled away from the entrance to the tomb. He entered through the closed doors of the place where the disciples were and he said to them ‘peace be with you.’ 'Peace be with you' and 'Do not be afraid' words that the risen Christ spoke to his friends.
Easter reminds us that, as Pope Francis keeps saying, we must never let ourselves be ‘robbed of hope’. As the children’s hymn joyfully puts it:
‘They buried my body
And they thought I’d gone,
But I am the Dance,
And the Dance goes on.
Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he’.
We know how important it is, how ever difficult it is for us to continue to make sacrifices and to maintain the current restrictions in order to protect and save life. But please God it won’t be too long before we can go back to singing and dancing together, to meeting and greeting, travelling and discovering, and of course gathering in church to celebrate and praise God.
It's heartbreaking actually to look down here on an Easter morning and see the Church empty, but I know that you are there in your homes tuning in, hundreds of thousands of people all over this country celebrating that Christ the Lord is risen. Please God we will get back to normality soon.
But what will we have learned? What is this crisis teaching us about ourselves and others, about faith and hope, about the importance of caring and loving, of perhaps living simpler lives and managing our expectations? In a strange way these days of seclusion are making us stop and think about what we value in our lives and perhaps even question some of the ways we've been living our lives.
An old medieval carol about the life of Jesus promises that ‘Tomorrow shall be my dancing day’. We may still have a long way to go in the fight against Covid-19 and its consequences. And there will be many more sacrifices for us to make before all this is over. But as surely as Christ rose on Easter morning, we will come through this, hopefully as better people, strengthened by the experience.
A very happy Easter to you all, to all your families and loved ones wherever they are across the country and across the
This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us despite all the difficulties rejoice and be glad in it.
