Archbishop Burke: Pastoral Letter on the Resurrection

On the Celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today, we celebrate the great mystery of our faith. God the Son made man has died on the Cross and is risen from the dead to save us from sin and from its most evil fruit, everlasting death. With the holy women, on Easter morning, we hear the declaration of the Paschal Angel: "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him" (Mark 16:6).

The Easter Angel also assures us, as he assured the holy women, that our Risen Savior goes before us and meets us in the Church. In the Easter Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist, which are the heart of the celebration of our Lord’s Resurrection, we encounter our Lord Jesus alive for us in the Church, pouring out upon us the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit, by which we are cleansed of sin and receive the inheritance of eternal life.

At the Easter Vigil and at Mass on Easter Sunday, we renew our baptismal promises, rejecting Satan and all his sinful works, and professing our faith in God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — Who has called us to share in His own life. Our Easter joy is the joy of true sons and daughters of God, adopted by God the Father in His only-begotten Son. In the Holy Eucharist, above all, we experience our Christian dignity, united in heart with the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus.

In the name of Christ's faithful in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, I express deepest gratitude for our new brothers and sisters in the Church, the newly baptized and those received into the full communion of the Catholic Church. A heartfelt welcome to the newest members of the household of the faith! Be assured of our prayers and assistance as you enter ever more deeply into the knowledge and love of Christ, as He meets you in the Church, especially through the Sacraments.

I greet all of the faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis with the traditional Easter salutation: The Lord indeed is risen. Alleluia. May the joy of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus fill your hearts and your homes.

Yours devotedly in Christ,
(Most Rev.) Raymond L. Burke
Archbishop of St. Louis