MANILA Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle called on Filipinos to remember Easter Sunday as a sign of hope amid suffering and despair in the world.
“The hope that the Resurrection brings does not take us away from our world and our time. On the contrary, hope opens our eyes to realities of daily life but from a changed perspective,” Tagle said in his Easter message.
Tagle also decried the practice of bribe-giving, noting that Jesus’ accusers bribed the guardians of his tomb not to tell the truth that he has resurrected.
“The Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 28, recounts that immediately after the Resurrection of Jesus, the soldiers guarding the tomb were given a large sum of money by Jesus’ accusers so that they could spread the news that the disciples of Jesus had stolen his body,” he said.
“The truth of the Resurrection of Jesus was betrayed and denied in exchange for money. This mode of acting sadly continues in our world,” he added.
He also said the practice of curtailing the truth “leads to greed, corruption, manipulation and further despair.”
Tagle said the empty tomb became a way to proclaim the good news of the Resurrection, which Catholics can emulate by being bearers of hope rather than “servants of gloom and despair.”
“The tomb became the space for divine illumination and for angels proclaiming the good news of the Resurrection. The tomb is not empty after all. It is now the space of God to spread light and life,” he said.
“Ordinary daily life offers many such ‘spaces’ in our homes, alleys, barangay, schools, buses, jeepneys, markets, offices, cell phones, social media as well as in our minds, emotions, and consciences. Let the Risen Jesus empty them of death and fill them with light, love and mission,” he added.