These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.

THE EASTER VIGIL

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam that gained for us so great a Redeemer! Most blessed of all nights chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead! —The Exultet

Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” (Mt 28:5-7)

Matthew’s angel gets it done . . . He announces the Good News, and adds, “Behold, I have told you.” And away he goes. Even though we might have a ton of questions . . . the angel doesn’t wait around . . . and neither do the women. They fulfill the mission they received "to go and tell" . . . and along the way they have an encounter with the Risen Lord. Maybe for us too the message is the same: “He is going before you to Galilee—there you will see him.” He always goes ahead us. We just have to keep up with him in all the Gaillees of the world.