In his first Easter message as Archbishop of Liverpool, Archbishop John Sherrington highlights the fresh hope that the Easter season brings.​

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By Simon Hart

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“Happy Easter. We sing, ‘Jesus Christ is risen today, alleluia!’ Praise the Lord!” These are the words with which Archbishop John Sherrington begins his message to the people of Liverpool city and region this Easter. For Archbishop Sherrington, this is his first Easter leading the services at the Metropolitan Cathedral and announcing the Good News of the Resurrection.

As he will add in his message on Easter Sunday: “Today is a day of great joy. Lent is over and we can enjoy the feast of Easter. Throughout the world, churches are garlanded with flowers, and Easter candles burn brightly. The newness and lightness of springtime resonate with the new hope offered by Jesus risen from the dead.”

 
For those attending the Holy Week services at the Cathedral, that message of hope and joy will be reflected by the music that will accompany the Liturgy, and it is a message that feels especially significant right now, given the conflicts and uncertainties of our time when the Church continues to battle for the preservation of all human life – from conception through to death. 

The optimism that Easter brings is underlined by what Archbishop Sherrington calls the “green shoots” 
of Easter, referring to one of the most joyful aspects of the celebration, namely the culmination of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process. 

This year has witnessed an especially high number of catechumens and candidates – adults preparing to be welcomed into the Church at the Easter Vigil – and overall, more than 340 people will either be baptised or received into the full Communion of the Church this Easter, be it at the Cathedral or in their parishes. It is a hope-filled moment, particularly given the number of young people involved, and it will be felt all the way from Preston in the north of the archdiocese to Widnes in the south – and from Worsley in the east to the Isle of Man in the west. 

As the archbishop reflects in his Easter message: “At Easter, we celebrate God’s love for us. Three days ago, on Good Friday, we remembered when Jesus died on the cross. He died to free us from sin and welcome us into a new life with Him by Baptism. Today we congratulate, and rejoice with, all those adults baptised last night at the Easter Vigil and those who received confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. They are the new green shoots in the Church.” 

Father Ged Callacher, the episcopal vicar for parish development, adds: “This Easter, we give thanks for those who will be received into the Church through the RCIA. Their journey has been one of searching, listening and responding to the voice of Christ. In welcoming them, we are reminded that faith is never something static, but a living call that continues to resonate in our own hearts. Their witness invites all of us to renew our own discipleship and to walk more closely with the risen Lord.” 

Easter at the Cathedral

The Easter Triduum at the Cathedral will begin with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7.30pm on Maundy Thursday, 2 April. It will include a period of ‘watching’, and will conclude with night prayer. For the first time here in Liverpool, Archbishop Sherrington will undertake the washing of the feet, which commemorates Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. 

On Good Friday, there will be the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 3pm, with the Passion to be sung, followed by Communion and Veneration of the Cross. 

Then, to mark the beginning of Easter, the Easter Vigil and First Mass of Easter will be celebrated at 8.30pm on Saturday 4 April. During this solemn liturgy, the Paschal candle will be lit, and we will see a cohort of catechumens baptised into the Church. Several Masses will follow at the Cathedral on Easter Sunday itself.

 
Ahead of the Triduum, on Wednesday 1 April, the entire archdiocesan family will gather for the Mass of Chrism at 7.30pm, as priests from across the archdiocese renew their commitment to service. There will also be the blessing of the Holy Oils to be used in the celebration of the sacraments throughout the coming year. 

‘The light of Christ breaks into darkness’ 

To return to the Easter message of Archbishop Sherrington, he adds: “Easter renews the gift of hope. It is the hope that death has been conquered and is not the end. We can hope in the promise of eternal life with the saints in heaven. They praise and worship God. 

“Easter deepens the gift of faith. With faith in Jesus, we can face suffering knowing that sickness, suffering and death are conquered by the Risen Christ. They are not the end. The light of Christ breaks into darkness.” 
The Archbishop’s affirmation about light breaking into darkness highlights that sense of renewed hope which counters the dark shadows cast by today’s conflicts around the world, particularly the current wars in the Middle East which Pope Leo has described as “a scandal to the whole human family”. 

In the Holy Land, Taybeh, which is widely regarded as the West Bank’s last fully Christian town, faces ongoing and escalating attacks from Israeli settlers.

Palestinian civilians continue to be killed in Gaza, meanwhile, where Father Gabriel Romanelli and his parishioners at Holy Family Church – the one Catholic parish in the devastated Strip – show a level of faith and perseverance in the face of terrible suffering that give a lesson to us all. 

At the time of writing, the traditional Easter events in Jerusalem seem unlikely to go ahead, with the annual Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives having already been cancelled and the Chrism Mass postponed, as Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, confirmed on 23 March. 

Yet the Patriarch too highlighted the hope that is found in Easter when he said: “Easter, which we celebrate in the name of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, reminds us that no darkness, not even that of war, can have the last word. The empty tomb is the seal of the victory of life over hatred, of mercy over sin. Let us allow this certainty to illuminate our steps and sustain our hope.” 

As well as hope, Easter is a reminder of the power of love – even in the face of death. As Archbishop Sherrington concludes in his message to us: “Easter invites us to love others. On Maundy Thursday, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and is a witness to service. We are invited to care for and love others by attending to their needs and bringing solace and hope. Today we rejoice; Christ is risen from the dead. Happy Easter.”