Easter Message of the Archbishop

E A S T E R   M E S S A G E


Beloved People in the Archdiocese of Cotabato:

I greet you with the joyful announcement of Easter: Christ has risen from the dead and has given us new life, Alleluia!

The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ is the central mystery of our Catholic faith. It is the event of our salvation and liberation from sin. It is the event by which Jesus our Lord and Saviour has reconciled us with God his Father and with one another. By dying and rising he has broken the barriers that divide us.

Freed from the slavery of sin we, therefore, must be dead to sin and alive for God. This is the meaning of "new life." We have a radically new life, a life that God himself has shared with us through our Baptism. Being dead to sin, we are enjoined to reject values, attitudes, and behaviour that deal death. Being alive for God we have to live on this earth loving and serving others, particularly the needy.

We would be untrue to our identity as Christians if we fail to love and serve the needy, no matter what tribe or language or culture or religion. We would deny our religious identity as disciples of the Lord Jesus if we fail to promote peace which is the fruit of justice.

Beloved brothers and sisters, together with our beloved Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo I greet you once again with greetings of peace and joy in the Risen Lord! He has died, He has risen, He will come again in glory! Alleluia! 


+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
Easter Sunday 2009