And this Easter joy, which they possessed in so large a measure, is for us also. We have not undergone the desolation of Good Friday, but we can know the gladness which comes from the Risen Christ. He is the escort and guide of all faithful souls. Unseen, yet ever present he accompanies and supports us on our pilgrimage from day to day, so that our religion and every part of our life that it touches is transformed into a personal relationship with him.

The Christian Faith is not a dreary attempt to obey a list of rules, but a life of pleasing our Blessed Lord with loyalty and love, not as servants only but as friends. And, as we give ourselves willingly to this cheerful, generous obedience while we see him not, we, like the Apostles, “…run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (NRSV, Hebrews 12:1,2).