“The Discretion of the Risen One and the Strength of Love Reborn”

In the accounts of the Resurrection, there is something that always surprises us: Jesus, the Living One, does not burst in with noise, does not impose Himself, does not display Himself. He makes Himself present with an almost disconcerting delicacy. He enters through closed doors, allows Himself to be recognized in a gesture, in a voice, in a wound. The Risen One seems to prefer the language of love over that of power. Why this “restraint” of God?

Because true love does not invade, does not force, does not seek to impose itself. Love, as Saint Paul the Apostle reminds us, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”. Love keeps no record of wrongs, does not cling to what is lost, does not remain trapped in what could have been. Love simply continues to give itself, even after the cross.

We might imagine it like this: In an ancient Asian tradition, it is said that in a hidden garden there grew a very special bamboo. For years, the one who cared for it watered the soil every day without seeing any result. Nothing sprouted. It seemed that every effort was in vain. One year passed… two… three… and still nothing. Many would have given up. But the gardener continued, faithful, patient, trusting in a life he could not see. And one day, suddenly, the bamboo emerged. In just a few weeks it grew several meters. What had not been visible for years was happening deep below: strong, silent roots were preparing a new life. The growth did not begin when it became visible, but long before, in the hidden.

So it is with the Resurrection: it is not a return to the past, but a silent irruption of new life; it is the “insurrection” of the Living One, the victory of a love that death has not been able to destroy.

Today, in this Easter season, the Lord also asks us a very profound question: Are we happy with what He allows us to live today? Do we live with gratitude for what is, or do we remain trapped in what was not? Because if the heart does not learn to recognize the life that is already sprouting, not even “coming back from the dead” would be enough.

Easter invites us to a new freedom: the freedom to love without conditions, to live in gratuity, not to measure, not to cling, not to harden our hearts.

And yet, as we celebrate the life that is reborn, we cannot ignore the pain of the world. The wars that wound so many peoples today show us, once again, how far the human heart can go when it turns away from love: lives cut short, families torn apart, lands marked by suffering and fear.

In this context, the Resurrection is not an escape, but a hope more necessary than ever. The Risen Christ also enters today into the “closed rooms” of wounded humanity, passes through our violence and speaks His word: “Peace be with you.” A deep peace that springs from forgiveness, reconciliation, and the ability to love again, even after being wounded.

May the Risen One grant us the grace to recognize Him in the small things, to welcome His discreet presence, and to live with a reconciled, free, and grateful heart, becoming in the midst of the world witnesses of His peace.

Happy Easter from your sisters of the General Team!