Easter Sunday

04-20-2025Weekly ReflectionJen Arnold, M.A.

Today, we celebrate the greatest feast of the Christian faith. Easter commemorates the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for our sins so that we might have hope for our salvation and eventual resurrection. Pope Francis has designated 2025 the Jubilee Year of Hope and the faithful as “pilgrims of hope.” In his papal bull, Spes Non Confundit: Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, the pope says, “The death and resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our faith and the basis of our hope” (#20). In other words, Easter is the very foundation for our hope, which is why this is our greatest celebration, since without hope, what do we have? Thus, Easter of 2025 seems to be the perfect opportunity to unpack why Jesus’ Resurrection is the foundational source of our hope.

Before discussing the beautiful gift of our Christian hope, let’s discuss the secular world’s understanding of hope. In its most benign sense, hope is a trite word thrown around for something that may or may not happen. Some examples of this are: “I hope you have a good day,” “I hope I win the lottery,” or “I hope the weather holds out.” At best, these statements project a sentiment of optimism or wishful thinking with a resolution of acceptance if things don’t pan out as hoped. Secular hope gets a little worse when the focus is on personal fulfillment, void of God, wherein people create their own purpose in a universe perceived to be lacking in coherent meaning. In these instances, hope relies on human efforts and temporal achievements. Often, you hear about the power of positive thinking or “manifesting” good outcomes. The problem with this form of secular hope is that it is limited to this life, can be easily shaken by trials, failures, and crises, and provides no meaning for suffering and death. When challenged, secular hope lacks real substance and falls flat.

Now, let’s turn to Christian hope. Christian hope is one of the three theological virtues (the others being faith and charity), which is a free gift from God, infused into the soul, that makes us “capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life” (CCC #1813). Hope is the virtue “by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit” (CCC #1817). Christian hope looks beyond this life to eternal life and, unlike secular hope, is not dependent on human effort or optimistic attitudes but on trust in God’s promises. It’s an active, forward-looking confidence that God will fulfill what He has pledged — most notably, salvation and the resurrection of the dead. Secular hope is hoping for something that may or may not happen, while Christian hope is waiting for and anticipating something that will happen in due time because God has promised it. Secular hope is rattled by adversity, while Christian hope perseveres and sustains us in trials and suffering because we know, with certitude, what awaits us on the other side.

At Easter, we celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection as the fulfillment of the reason for our hope. As I stated earlier, Christian hope is founded on our trust in God’s promises. Regarding Easter, the Catechism tells us, “Christ’s Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase ‘in accordance with the Scriptures’ indicates that Christ’s Resurrection fulfilled these predictions” (CCC #652). In other words, this one event fulfilled every promise God ever made throughout the history of salvation. From the very beginning, God promised that He would send a Savior to redeem mankind from the effects of sin. Immediately following Adam and Eve’s fall, God tells the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring” (Gen 3:15). The woman’s offspring is Jesus and the serpent, or Satan’s, offspring is sin. This promise was echoed through the Old Testament in the prophecies of a Messiah, a Savior who would bring salvation to God’s people. Jesus’ resurrection fulfills this promise. By rising from the dead, Jesus proves that He is the Messiah, the one sent by God to restore humanity to its original dignity. His victory over death confirms the truth of God’s word, demonstrating that He has the power to fulfill every promise made throughout Scripture. The Resurrection is not merely a miraculous event, but the pivotal moment demonstrating God’s fidelity to His promises. In Jesus, God’s plan of salvation reaches its climax.

Sin and death are the two forces that have enslaved humanity since the Fall. In the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world through human disobedience, bringing with it the consequences of suffering, pain, and, ultimately, death. However, the Resurrection clearly indicates that death does not have the final word. As St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” Through Jesus’ Resurrection, the power of sin and death is broken, offering us the hope of eternal life.

Jesus’ death on the cross was necessary for our redemption, but it is His Resurrection that seals the victory. The Resurrection demonstrates that Jesus has conquered what no human could conquer on one’s own – death. Through this victory, our hope is born, for if Jesus has conquered death, so will we, through Him, and share in that victory. As St. Paul teaches, “If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5). Jesus’ Resurrection prefigures our own bodily resurrection that will occur with the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of time. Our hope is anchored in the person of Jesus Christ, who has shown us that the suffering of this world is not the end of the story.

So, what does the connection between Easter and the virtue of hope mean for us practically? As Christians, we are called to live in the hope of the Resurrection. In his encyclical letter, Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI says, “The one who has hope lives differently” (#2). Even in difficult moments, we can trust that God’s plan for us is for our ultimate good. We can surrender our fears and anxieties to God, knowing that He is in control and that He will guide us toward eternal life. We can persevere, knowing life will one day be redeemed in the glory of eternal life. The Christian life is not always easy and the path to eternal life can be fraught with obstacles. Hope gives us the strength to continue pressing forward, even when the journey seems difficult. As Pope John Paul II said, “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.”