Bishop Philip Boyce issues his Easter Message to the Raphoe diocese

Bishop Philip Boyce has published his Easter Message, with a prayer for peace in countries where Christians are being persecuted. The text of the message is as follows –
 
Easter Message 2015.
 
Easter is the most important Feast of the whole year. In the liturgy of the Church we have many Feasts – of martyrs and of other Saints and of Our Lady. The Feasts of  Christ are the most noteworthy and they come to a high point, a culmination, in the Sacred Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour at Easter. So important is it that we keep a Vigil and celebrate it sometime between sunset or the Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday morning. St. Augustine called this celebration “the mother of all vigils.” It is a feast of life and light in which death and darkness are banished.
 
The joy of the Resurrection still inspires our faith down to the present day. It gives us hope in the midst of the trials of life. The Lord who is always with us to the end of time is the Risen and triumphant Saviour who shares with us his own life and love.
 
At the Easter Vigil in the Cathedral of St. Eunan in Letterkenny, there was an adult baptism of a lady who has been working here for the  past few years. Another lady was received into full communion with the Catholic Church. Both were confirmed and received their first Holy Communion. The whole ceremony was richly symbolic and deeply impressive. It reminded all present of how precious their faith is, which is a gift received on the day of baptism. The joy was palpable.
 
I pray for peace all over the world, especially in those lands where people, and many of our Christian brothers and sisters, suffer from warfare and terrorism, and where their lives are at risk on account of their fidelity to the Risen Christ and his Gospel message.
 
May the joy of the Resurrection fill your heart and bring you peace.
 
+ Philip Boyce, O.C.D.