Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
The English language is froth with nuances. The phrase, He is Risen, is one extraordinary ex- ample. ‘He has Risen’ and ‘He was raised up’ all carry the nuance that ‘that is it.’ It is over, much like the raising of Lazarus.
‘He is Risen’ suggests much more. Not only did He rise. More importantly, ‘He is’. He exists here and now. What we celebrate every Easter is not a memory, but a living Lord who still walks with us, listens to us, cries and laughs with us, sympathizes with and heals us.
Was not Jesus rejoicing with us, even amidst our pain of loss, as we laid our First Bishop, +Tomas A. Camacho, to rest in the sanctuary of our Cathedral? Will He not be with us as we ordain five Permanent Deacons on April 7 to nurture the Gospel in the fertile vineyard Bishop Tomas so lovingly cultivated for 25 years?
With the prayerful support of Bishop Tomas, Jesus walked with us as we listened and discussed and formulated our Five Year Pastoral Plan. The Holy Spirit was with us and still guides us as we implement and update that plan.
As important as that Plan is, the greatest gift we received is the growth and deepening of our oneness as members of Jesus’ Mystical Body. We experienced the Spirit discerning not only within each of us, but also guiding us as sinners struggling to be an ever more loving and mercy filled community within the larger CNMI population.
Many challenges are ahead of us, but we know that because the Lord is Risen and with us, despair is not in our future. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad!” (Psalm 118). The Cardinal Virtue of Hope must be alive and well as we move into the future. It must permeate everything we do in our religious, economic, political, and personal lives.
Happy Easter!
Sincerely in the Risen Christ,
+Ryan P. Jimenez Bishop of Chalan Kanoa
