By Cian Molloy - 14 April, 2019
Archbishop Eamon Martin (left) and Archbishop Richard Clarke.
The faithful must work fearlessly for the restoration of hope and good relationships with one another and within society, say the two Archbishops of Armagh in a joint message for Holy Week and for Easter Sunday.
In their message, the Catholic and the Church of Ireland primates, Archbishops Eamon Martin and Richard Clarke compare the experiences of the followers of Christ in the New Testament with our experience as believers today.
“We know that, following the seismic events of Good Friday, the first disciples were now fearful, uncertain and deeply puzzled as to where their future might lie. But Easter transformed them into people of hope in Jesus Christ who brought that hope to those around them, and through them to the furthest reaches of the known world. But how?”
The Archbishops said that following the Resurrection of Our Lord, the disciples were filled with a “confidence that physical death could no longer grip them with fear” and a deeper conviction that, through the power of Christ, good would ultimately win definitive victory over fear and evil.
In a nod to the political crises at home and abroad, the Archbishops said: “Regardless of personal opinions on the various crises in Ireland, Britain, Europe and throughout the world, no reasonable person can seriously doubt the levels of anxiety, anger and divisiveness that are corroding human relationships within and through society and even within close-knit families. We must not only pray for the healing of relationships. We must also work fearlessly as Easter people for the restoration of hope and good relationships with one another and within a wider society.”
Making reference to St Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Archbishops Martin and Clarke said as Christian disciples today, we can use the energy and power of Christ’s resurrection to bring hope and purpose into our own lives and into the lives of others.
“We can do this by our generous love and unflagging courage in words and actions, in our sense of positive purpose and in our adamant refusal just to let things happen.”
