In many parts of the world we celebrate Easter “behind closed doors” this year, like the disciples closed in the Upper Room. Them because of the fear of the Jews, us because of the pandemic from Covid-19. The Lord still comes, despite our closed doors, and reveals himself Risen among us. We cannot celebrate Easter as we would have liked, but we never needed to celebrate Easter like this year, to welcome the Lord of life who comes to dry our tears, to give peace to our hearts, to support our hope, to confirm ourselves in faith, to bless the many signs of love and closeness that, in this emergency situation, many have experienced and each of us, in his own way, has also been called to live. We ask the Risen Lord for the grace to be like the beloved Disciple, who “saw and believed”. Give us the Lord to see and believe in his victory over evil and death within the bitter days we are living. Give us to be like Mary of Magdala, capable of pausing in prayer before the many death tombs of our times, but to listen to the announcement, and testify to others, that the Lord is not there, he is Risen, and this means that if we died, if many died, ours and their life is now “hidden with Christ in God”, waiting to be “with him in glory”.

Commentary by Comunità di Dumenza

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey