EasterMatthew 28:6
"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said."
Easter Message - Most Rev Michael Kennedy
Love has the final word
Each year, Easter draws us back to the empty tomb. We come as we are, carrying the realities of our lives, the responsibilities we shoulder, the people we love and the concerns that weigh on us. In the quiet of that first Easter morning, we hear again the words that changed everything: He is not here. He has risen, just as he said.
The Resurrection of Jesus is not simply a beautiful conclusion to a tragic story. It marks the beginning of something entirely new, the quiet but decisive triumph of love over hatred and mercy over violence. Easter reminds us that neither death nor sin has the final word. God does.
In his first Papal Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te (“I have loved you”), Pope Leo XIV reflects on the love of Christ shown most clearly in his closeness to the poor. The Holy Father reminds us that God’s love is not distant or theoretical. It is personal and tangible, expressed in a love that draws close to those who are wounded, excluded and forgotten.
At the heart of Easter is this love, a love that does not remain distant from suffering but steps into it and opens a way through to new life.
The Risen Christ still bears his wounds. When he appears to the disciples, he does not conceal the marks of crucifixion. Instead, those wounds become signs of glory. In a world that so often hides weakness, Easter reveals something very different: that love offered in sacrifice is never wasted, but holds the power to redeem.
For all of us who mark this season, Easter is not only a moment of celebration but an invitation to live differently. If we truly believe that Christ is risen, then that belief must shape the way we think, speak and act, forming us into people marked by resurrection hope.
That hope becomes visible in the way we stand beside those who are struggling and in the quiet faithfulness with which we carry one another’s burdens. The Resurrection does not remove us from the realities of life; it sends us into them with restored courage.
In that same exhortation, Pope Leo speaks of the Church as a sign of Christ’s tender love in the world. He reminds us that our credibility rests not in our words alone, but in the authenticity of our witness. When we serve quietly, forgive generously and remain faithful in difficult times, we become signs of the Risen Lord.
That witness does not come from our own strength. It is nourished each time we gather at the altar, where we encounter the Risen Lord and receive the grace to begin again.
For that reason, the announcement that Sydney will host the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028 is a moment of real encouragement for our Church. It invites us to renew our love for the Eucharist, not simply as a tradition we maintain, but as the living heart of our faith. In the breaking of the bread, the same Jesus who stepped out of the tomb meets us again and sends us back into the world with renewed hope.
That hope is not naive or detached from reality, and Easter does not remove the challenges we face. Our world still carries division and suffering, and many people shoulder burdens that are unseen by others. Yet the Resurrection assures us that darkness is never the final chapter, and that God continues to bring new life from places that once seemed closed.
As we celebrate Easter this year, perhaps the invitation is simply to trust that God is quietly at work in our lives, even when we cannot yet see the full picture.
In the end, this occasion reminds us that we are loved, and that love has the power to change us.
Wishing you and your loved ones every blessing this Easter.
Bishop Michael Kennedy is the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.
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Discover more about the Triduum
From Holy Thursday to the Easter Vigil, the Triduum marks the most important days of the Church year, remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Keen to learn more, read our 10 Questions about the Triduum below.
10 Questions about the Triduum