The shooting deaths of 33 people on the campus of Virginia Tech University last week, at the beginning of the second week of Easter, threw the lives of many into turmoil and seemed to be almost an affront to all that the season means for believers.

The suffering caused by the tragic event, in which more than 20 other persons were injured, stands in marked contrast to the excitement evident in many Christian communities as members gathered at darkened church doors, two weeks ago, for the start of the Easter Vigil.

In a ceremony rich with symbolism, the light of the Easter Candle was shared with the congregation and the light of many candles bathed the church in a special glow.

Several parishes had the privilege, as well, of seeing new members added to their number, through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. No other celebration enlivens our parishes like these Easter celebrations.

This season of new life is not to be seen in isolation from the other solemnities and feasts in the Church’s year or as a departure from the normal routine.

Easter together with the other seasons of the Church’s year is meant to inform and shape the lives of believers and to strengthen them for witness.

As Archbishop Edward Gilbert put it in his column, last week, “the liturgical calendar helps believers to think with the Church, to pray in union with the Church, to grow spiritually each year as they experience worship and internalise more and more the meaning of the various solemnities and feasts.”

Peace and redemption

The United States tragedy emphasises just how much the world needs the good news of Christ and the witness and the hope that communities alive with his Spirit bring.

The light of Christ – his authority, his power, his freedom – is what the Christian community must bring to the society in which it finds itself.

The events at Virginia Tech bring into sharp focus the great need for the peace of Christ in our world. Violence and suffering whether it takes place in Iraq, or in Darfur, or here at home, underscores the need for the peace and redemption of the risen Lord.

The reading this Sunday from the Acts of the Apostles in which Peter and his companions stand up to the authorities demonstrates what happens when followers immerse themselves in the light of Jesus.

The group boldly witnesses to Jesus as their leader and saviour, “Obedience to God comes before obedience to men,” they declare. Communities so empowered have also been challenged to the same self-sacrificing and unconditional love Jesus asks of Peter in today’s Gospel.

Jesus asks believers today the same question: “Do you love me?” The Lord is looking among us for those who dare to love him in self-sacrificing ways. The world’s peace depends on such love.

This love, or the willingness to accept the challenge to love in this way, is not as rare as it may seem. We have known communities in which persons have been able to rise above the darkness around them and be powerful signs of the presence of the risen Lord.

A community that has experienced the love of Jesus and has been emboldened and enlivened by his Spirit is in a better position to counter the evil influences that threaten it.