by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
JOS: The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos, Archbishop Matthew Ishaya Audu, says “Easter Message is really a call to see with the eyes of faith, which means, believing even when there are only signs of what we would like to see.
“This is what the Risen Lord wants from us – to see Him, to recognize Him through the signs He gives us that He is there, He is HERE with us, each one of us.”
This is what was contained in his Easter Message to Christians in Plateau State, stressing that, “He gives signs, personal signs. It can be that He heals me from a sickness; or, He frees me from some fear that was upsetting me so much, or He gives us a child when we thought this was impossible.
“He helps me to succeed in my work more than I had ever expected. Or, when things go bad, He gives me special strength so that I am not discouraged. Whatever it is, healing, help, strength, blessings of any kind: I need the eyes of faith to say: Yes, I know, I know where it comes from.”
Archbishop Audu added that, “Those things are a little like the cloths folded in the tomb – they are signs, signs that the LORD IS RISEN AND HE IS WITH US. Because of this, in our life there should not be any darkness or emptiness.
“Last night, we celebrated already the Resurrection of Jesus. It was very dark and then there was light: the light of the Risen Lord. Have you ever heard the saying: ‘The night is at its darkest when the sun is about to rise’?
“This is true, too, in our daily lives. When we are struggling with problems and difficulties of all kinds, it is good to remember that we can be sure that our hardest moments are just before He, the Lord, will come to help us.
According to him, this is something that he cannot prove to them but it is something that they themselves will know – by learning it through their own experience.
While urging the people to look at the signs the Lord gives them in their own lives, they should look with the eyes of faith, and SEE the joy that can fill their hearts, especially during this Easter season.
“The precious things that we call goodness, trust, love – all those things we need so much, we see signs of them only. We cannot touch or trust. We cannot hold love in our hands. We can only see signs that a person trusts us, or loves us,” the Archbishop said.