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The Catholic Leader, April 21, 2019
www.catholicleader.com.auACU
Celebrating themiracle
and joy of Easter.
Alleluia!
Professor Greg Craven
is the vice-chan-
cellor of Australian Catholic University.
by greg craven
Easter represents new possibilities,
for living out our shared mission
By Professor Greg Craven
AS Christians worldwide begin the celebration
of Holy Week and Easter, we enter into the most
sacred days of the Church’s calendar in which we
remember the suffering, death, and Resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus died and rose from the dead, God was no longer
just with us – he became one of us.
At Easter, we are invited once again to contemplate new pos-
sibilities for living out our shared mission as Christians.
Easter is a time to reflect on His eternal message – one of
infinite love, compassion and hope.
It is also timely for us to reflect on our efforts in helping bring
about his Reign in our place and time.
Easter is knowing that death is not the end of our story but
rather the beginning of new life.
The Easter story does not end with Mary in grief at the foot of
the cross.
The cross represents for us the paradox of our faith — that in
dying we attain eternal life.
Jesus’ ultimate victory over suffering and death gives us hope.
It is that hope that is embedded in the words “Peace be with
you,” the first words the risen Christ speaks to the apostles.
“Peace be with you,” is repeated by Jesus each time he greets
the apostles over the 40 days after the Resurrection until he
ascends to heaven.
We can glean that these words capture the essence of the mys-
tery of the risen Christ.
It is those words that lie at the heart of Christianity – they are
the Lord’s gift to us.
“Peace be with you” is easy to say, but they can seem like
empty words to those who have no peace in their lives.
The mission of Australian Catholic University is to stand in
solidarity with people of goodwill, and because of our faith in
redemption and reconciliation, we engage in the hard work of
upholding the dignity of all and advancing the common good
even when the challenges may seem insurmountable.
Easter teaches all of us that our mission to bring about a com-
munity and world built on human dignity and the common good
will not be ultimately thwarted. Love will prevail.
At ACU we have plenty to reflect on, to celebrate and for
which we can give thanks.
As a diverse religious institution, members of our university
community will also participate in a number of other faith-based
celebrations in the coming weeks, including the Jewish feast of
Passover.
Regardless of your faith tradition or beliefs, I invite you to
join me in taking a moment to reflect and give thanks for the
unique gifts and opportunities that we have received.
From my family to yours, I wish you the hope embodied in the
Resurrection at this time of year.
May you all have a happy and holy Easter.
Giving thanks:
An image of the crucified Jesus in the ACU Stathfield campus chapel