Bishop Duca's 2025 Easter Message

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

“The Lord is Risen!  He is risen indeed!”  I always begin my Easter homily with this traditional Easter greeting of the Eastern Church.  In place of a greeting like “Have a blessed Easter,” this saying is a proclamation of our faith that seems to express the joy of Easter in our hearts that cannot be contained.  JESUS IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, and this proclamation invites a response of the other person who is greeted and who shares the common faith. “He is Risen indeed!”  
 
I think all of us find inspiration and hope at Easter time.   After my struggles during Lent, I am always inspired by Holy Week services that culminate in the Holy Saturday lighting of the New Fire, the proclamation of the Resurrection, and the baptism and acceptance of new Catholics into the Faith.  Maybe it is the same for you, or perhaps you have other experiences of the Easter season that inspire you with the hope and joy of Christ’s resurrection.  Maybe it is the dying of Easter eggs, digging through the Easter basket, or the gathering of family and friends for an Easter meal.  Just the feeling of Spring in the air can be enough to give us a feeling of hope.  This joyful experience of hope is healing, and it reminds us that the light of Christ has the power to dispel the darkness of our hearts.   
 
Yet, this personal experience is only one aspect of Easter joy for the mature Christian.  Our experience of Easter should be more than about having a day free of conflict and trying to recapture the joy of our faith only within our hearts.  Our Easter greeting “the Lord is Risen” is not a proclamation of Christ’s resurrection only to our brothers and sisters in Christ, but we are also called to proclaim this joy to the whole world.  We should reflect that we are called to proclaim Christ’s resurrection not only as a greeting, but as a remedy -  the truth, the hope, and the answer to the prayers and concerns of the world.  The deepest truth about our Easter joy is that we are called to be a source of that joy to the world, specifically to our neighbors, friends, and co-workers.  Easter is not just about us feeling good but also wanting to share the proclamation of the faith that lives in our hearts so we can help others find hope and the truth of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Easter is not just about trying to find the joy of Easter, but realizing as disciples of Jesus we are to be the source of that joy for others.
 
In our daily lives, we may find it inappropriate to run into our office, the grocery, or other public venues and proclaim on Monday morning, “HE IS RISEN!” But we can still give the message in other ways that will invite opportunities to speak of the hope of the Resurrection.   When listening to the troubles of others, we can say, “There is always hope,” or “I am sure an answer will come."  When people ask why we are so hopeful, we can share the joy and promise of our faith.  
 
I hope you know that the responses I suggest are not meant to be trite or unsubstantial but only to provide an opening to a more complete personal witness.   Our hope in the resurrection can comes with a cost.  We know there is often a Calvary before Resurrection.  I hope our witness will come from a genuine faith that has matured because we have witnessed the power of Christ’s resurrection in our lives.  Hopefully we have experienced a moment when all seemed lost; in these parts of our lives when we witnessed to dying and suffering, doubt and despair, we find the power of Christ’s Resurrection.  We find unexpected answers that are probably impossible for us to see until we remember and put our faith back in God and in Jesus His Son, who invites us to die with Him so that we might find new life - a moment of faith where we remember that “HE IS RISEN!” It is here, in our faithfulness, or even in spite of our making a mess of things, that we can discover the faithful love of God and new life through His grace.  We discover what it means to rise from the dead and to remember, “HE IS RISEN INDEED!”
 
I pray this will be an Easter season where you will discover that the joy of our faith is not only found in deepening our personal and church relationship with Christ, but it can also found in sharing the faith with others.  Remember, the proclamation “The LORD is Risen!” is not just a greeting for other Christians, it is a proclamation of hope for the whole world.   May our lives be a witness to this joyful proclamation of the saving joy of Christ’s resurrection and the wonderful hope of new life in Christ to the people we will meet today.  

Hope in the Lord,

Most Reverend Michael G. Duca
Bishop of Baton Rouge