Christ has died, Christ is Risen!

Apr 18, 2025

This joyful Easter proclamation lies at the very heart of our Christian faith. Known as the Kerygma in Greek — the core message of the Gospel — it is a declaration we make at every Mass. After the consecration, when the priest proclaims “The Mystery of Faith,” we respond: “We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.”

This is the Paschal Mystery: the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ — God’s plan to save humanity.

The Easter Triduum and the Paschal Mystery
We have just celebrated the Easter Triduum, the sacred “three days” from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. On Holy Thursday, Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples, instituting the Eucharist. On Good Friday, He was crucified, becoming the true Passover Lamb who freed us from the slavery of sin. On Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday, we rejoiced in His resurrection from the dead.

Through His death and resurrection, Jesus reveals the depth of God’s love and opens the way to eternal life. This is not something we could have discovered on our own — it has been revealed to us through Christ. And by believing in Him, we find true life.

A Personal Encounter with Death and Hope
Last month, while I was at Mount Hosanna in Sri Aman, I received news that my father had passed away in Sabah, where he had run a survey business. I flew there to celebrate his funeral Mass, followed by his cremation. At the crematorium, I was allowed to gather his cremated remains — bone fragments later placed in an urn. I brought him home to Kuching for a Requiem Mass and interment at the Church of St Peter’s columbarium.

In those sacred moments, as I prayed beside his coffin, carried his urn, and reflected on his life, I came face-to-face with death in a deeply personal way. I realised that the very hands that once carried me as a newborn were now entrusted to me in turn. It was a moment filled with sorrow — but also gratitude, reverence, and profound faith.

The Promise of Eternal Life
In times of loss, the words of Jesus come alive with power and comfort. “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live.” (John 11:25)

At every funeral Mass, as we place a coffin before the altar, we are reminded of Christ’s promise of eternal life to those who have received Him in Holy Communion: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” (John 6:51)

At every Mass, Christ nourishes us with His Body and Blood — the spiritual food that strengthens us for life’s journey and prepares us for eternal life.

Easter: the Victory of Life over Death
As human beings, we all journey through life, death, and burial. But for us as Christians, this journey is illuminated by the Paschal Mystery. Because Jesus died and rose again, we know that death is not the end. Through our Baptism, we are united with Christ in His death and, as Scripture promises, we shall also be united with Him in His resurrection: “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.” (Romans 6:8)

The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope in our grief, strength in our trials, and meaning in our suffering. Even in our darkest moments, we cling to the promise: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

A Message of Faith and Joy
This Easter, let us renew our faith in the risen Lord. Let us rejoice that sin and death have been conquered. And let us live as people of the Resurrection — sharing the light of Christ with a world so in need of hope.

May the joy of Easter fill our hearts, and may we one day hear those beautiful words from our Lord:

“Well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Master.” (Matthew 25:23)

Blessed Easter to you and your loved ones. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Together with Cardinal, archbishops, bishops, priests, deacons and religious, I wish all our Catholic faithful A Blessed Easter filled with the Hope of Jubilee Year 2025.

Most Rev Dato Dr Simon Poh
President
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia