By Sr. Rita Kelly, MMM                                      Ireland                              05.04.2026

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? (Lk 24:5)

Do you ever have a sentence going around your head and you are not too sure why? The phrase “Why do you look for the living among the dead” from St. Luke’s narrative on the Risen Christ is the one in my head. It was said, by angels, to the women who went with spices, to the tomb of Jesus.

Recently, I was having a conversation with friends about the various wars and troubles of the world. But then it was mentioned there is so much good in the world as well as bad. The tone of our conversation changed from despair to hope.

In celebrating Easter, the Risen Christ, the passion and death of Jesus is also remembered in Holy Week. Mary Magdalene, Joanne, Mary the mother of James and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, are in the crowd that followed Jesus on the way to way to Calvary. Luke says that the women were weeping for Jesus but he turns to them and consoles them. He says to them “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and children” (Lk: 23:31). In his poem, The Killing, Edwin Muir writes “Alone, beside the cross-foot, four women stood and did not move all day”

One can image the sorrow and despair the followers of Jesus felt. Not only was he a beloved friend but the belief that he was the Messiah who was going to save the Jewish people. But now he was dead. Is this not the same for many people in the world today? Every day we listen to the devastating news of the war in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and parts of Africa. On TV we constantly see people mourning their loved ones. But I am also amazed at the kindness and the quiet heroism of many people whose stories never hit the headlines. Neighbours, friends and strangers help each other. Volunteers at local and global level move from their comfort zones to help those who need their support.

Mother Nature also, teaches a lot, especially in this part of the world. After a long dark winter, buds and flowers appear miraculously. After Christmas, there is the long dark months of January and February and a feeling “winter will never end” but suddenly the snowdrop, daffodils, cherry blossom “flash upon the inner eye which is a bliss of solitude” (Wordsworth).

The women at the tomb were reminded by the angels what Jesus had told them, “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again” After his resurrection Jesus appears to several people, in ordinary events such as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, to Mary in the garden, to the apostles in the locked room. The Apostles were so fearful that they locked themselves into a room. Jesus did not only appear to them but showed his wounds. The Risen Christ invites us to look again, to listen more deeply, to hope, not a false hope that denies pain, but through our woundedness we can become a source of healing and meaning. May the Risen Christ bring peace, awaken and renew the faith that lives within our hearts.