"Why are you looking for the Living One among the dead? He is not here! He is risen" (Luke 24:5-6).
Olsztyn, April 19, 2025
Dear Benefactors to Dehonian Missions!
On Easter morning, the Risen Jesus brings us a message of peace.
"Peace be unto you" (John 20:19) - these were the first words of the Risen Lord to the fearful disciples. How important is this message, which remains relevant through the centuries. Christ brings true peace through his presence among us. By defeating death, He reassures us that His peace is lasting and timeless.
Jesus invites us to never give up. Despite adversity, illness, the cross. Even when it would seem that all is lost.
The experience of the Risen Jesus was the foundation that unified the group of Christ's disciples anew. After the very difficult experience of Good Friday, Jesus brings them words of encouragement and joy, reveals himself in various places and allows himself to be seen transfigured and glorified, risen and living!
What a profound message resonates in the Gospel inquiry: "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here! He is risen" (Luke 24:5-6). The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith, as it testifies in an undeniable way that God enters human history and saves us.
Like the apostles, we need personal encounters with the Risen One, because only by the power of these encounters can we - like them - become a new creation. It was encounters with the Risen Jesus that transformed the disciples and generations of Christians into witnesses of God in the world.
The resurrection of Christ can become a source of strength and power, an inspiration towards experiencing the miracle of life, victory and what is "new." The Resurrection is not only a manifestation of God's power and the gift of eternity, but a message of hope for a man saddened by his misery.
In the Eucharist celebrated at this joyful time, we touch realistically the Risen Lord, who has crushed the gates of death and strengthens each of us in faith and trust.
Drawing inspiration from the events of Easter through our charity work for the missions, we want to serve precisely those who suffer injustice, poverty and suffering, and give them the hope that comes from Christ's Resurrection.
May the experience of the Risen Lord transform us internally, so that we do not stop praying and doing good despite the worries that we, after all, are not lacking either.
May Christ's peace also prevail in our family communities, in our society and throughout the world, where all sorts of conflicts, tensions, misunderstandings or wars are smoldering.
On the occasion of this Christmas of "new life," I would like to wish you, dear missionary Donors, on behalf of myself and all the staff of the Secretariat for Foreign Missions of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, God's peace, strength, health and all prosperity. I wish you a profound experience of the closeness of the Risen One.
With remembrance in prayer +
Fr. Zbigniew Chwaja SCJ
Secretary of Foreign Missions