austraLasia
1532
Timely pastoral
note from Hong Kong on death and new life
HONG KONG: 19th April 2006 -- When Cardinal Zen wrote
his East pastoral letter to Hong Kong Catholics this year, he was unaware of the
sudden passing of Fr Valentin de Pablo on Easter night. But the pastoral
letter turns out to be a timely one in the light of that. We quote most of
it here below:
"It may seem frivolous to begin this
pastoral letter writing about the Easter egg. What does an egg have to do with
Easter? At first sight, it has no life. But a new life can burst out from
within, breaking out of the confinement of the shell. The body of Jesus remained
lifeless for three days in the tomb and on the third day came forth, gloriously
alive.
"In the plant world, a seed does not seem to have
life, but from a tiny seed grows a big tree. Plants and animals reproduce life
through seeds or eggs, but each plant or animal eventually dies.
"Man seems to face the same fate. Individuals grow up,
become adults, grow old and die. But in the face of death, we feel that it is
not natural. On the contrary, we feel that it is unnatural and refuse to accept
death. Our faith guarantees a justification for this feeling.
"God is the source of life. The life of a person is to
share in God's life. We are his breath and by breathing on us, he makes us alive
in order to establish an eternal covenant with us. From the moment we appear
before him, we never disappear.
"Death does not belong in
the plan of God. It was sin that brought forth death. But death cannot destroy
the plan of God. The Son of God conquered death by choosing to die a painful and
humiliating death. He truly died, his body was laid, lifeless, in a tomb, but he
also truly rose.
"In the Easter Hymn (Sequence) we sing:
"Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous: the Prince of Life,
who died." He actually conquered death by dying and "reigns immortal".
"Death itself has no value. It can be light, as light as
a feather, or weighty as a mountain. The death of Christ is an act of obedience
to the Father and love for people. It is obedience and love that has redeemed
sinful humankind.
"From now on we can say, "Life is
transformed, not destroyed". Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life ...
he who believes in me shall never die."
"Dear brothers
and sisters, you will have no difficulty understanding why I focus on the
meaning of death at Easter. The Holy Father conferred a red vestment on me to
remind me to defend the Church even to the point of shedding blood.
"The meditation above may be a bit tailor-made for myself
... but it is actually the message of Easter for everybody. The Easter egg
reminds us of this. What Jesus says, 'Unless a seed...' also reminds us of this.
May you all draw new strength from this meditation and enter a new life!
Signed: 'Your Bishop, Joseph Cardinal Zen'.
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