The Joy of Easter, Christian Hope and Faith in the Resurrection

Creatures of the Lord, creatures of God, we cannot but rejoice at the thought that Heaven has been reopened to us, that God Whom we no longer knew, God Who was far from us, has once again drawn closer, and that the way is laid open for us to return to God for Whom we were created from all eternity.

We were created for God, to live in God, to enjoy God for all eternity. And behold we were locked up, Heaven was closed, the path to God was closed off. We could no longer go to Him. Even the saints of the Old Testament could no longer go to God. They were there, waiting in limbo, where Our Lord went to visit them after His death to bring them the hope that in a few days, in a few moments, they would finally enter into everlasting bliss.

And this path that is open, that God has opened for us, we have to conquer it! Our Lord has entered into His eternity, Our Lord has received His ultimate glory, the saints of the Old Testament who accompanied Him are now in their glory and enjoy the beatific vision, the blessed vision of God, and they are in the House of the Father; but we are not there yet.

If therefore we ought to rejoice because we are walking towards this goal in which we hope, that we wish and desire to obtain, for which we are made – the goal of our pilgrimage here below – then we should be full of hope. The virtue of hope is the great Christian virtue. With this hope in our hearts, we have this deep Faith in the Resurrection of Our Lord, in His triumph over evil.

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, April 11, 1971

Intégrale des sermons de Mgr Lefebvre à Ecône