On April 15, 2019, at about 6:50 pm, a fire broke out beneath the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral. After about six hours the fire was put out. One of the earliest pictures of the state of the Cathedral that came out was a picture of the altar with all the burned wood and destroyed items. What was striking though, was that the Cross was still standing in the background. A very silent message that in the tragedies of life, God is still around.

My dear friends, Easter Sunday is a reminder that yes, amidst all the darkness in the world, God is very much around. In fact, we celebrate the most important of all feasts – Jesus Christ is risen.

Because Jesus is risen, three things we remember:

1. God hears all our prayers. He is alive and He is just a prayer away. Hence, He answers all our prayers. Yes, if it is the will of the Lord. No, because God has a better plan. Not yet, because God’s timing is best. Hence, pray unceasingly and never lose hope!
   
2. God’s Words are alive. Because God is the author of life, He has words, commandments, advice, and warnings for every human experience. Whatever season of life we are at, let us be guided by the Word of God. 
   
3. God has a plan. Why does evil seem to prevail? Why does God allow His name to be used in vain? Why does God allow His Church to be persecuted? Why do bad things happen to good people and good things to bad people? Because God is alive, surely good will always prevail. The enemies of Jesus thought with the cross, he would forever be silenced. They did not expect that three days later He would rise. 

That is why we should remember that in life, whether we want it or not, whether we are ready or not, crosses will always be there. They can be heavy at times and we can say, “My God, my God why have you abandoned me?”, but we keep in mind we are Easter People. Never, ever, lose hope because after Good Fridays come the Easter Sundays of life.