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By Rev. Bro. Eymard Fernando, National Seminary, Ampitiya.

Echoes of "Hallejujah", with Easter joy, ring in our ears,
At this Paschal Mystery which banishes all our fears.

Salvation promised to Adam becomes a reality in mystery,
Through the shedding of Christ's blood at this moment in history.

End of the reign of sin, slavery and bondage,
Results in Our Lord's regaining man's lost heritage!

A very beautiful way of looking at the Resurrection is indicated by C.S. Lewis, in his book, "Miracles". He states, "Jesus met, fought and beat death. Everything is different because He rose from the dead. This is the beginning of the New Creation, a new chapter in cosmic history".

At Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead. By dying and rising, Jesus destroyed death. Death no longer has the last word. Its sting has been removed. Therefore, it is correct to say that Easter is a celebration of human life in the light of Christ's causing the death of death (cf.Rom.6).

If Easter is a celebration of life, it is surely a pro-life feast, which upholds the truth that life is sacred from the time of fertilization, against the upcoming "culture of death".

One of the greatest threats to human life in our day is ABORTION, "THE HOLOCAUST OF THE UNBORN". Abortion is the greatest war of all time. Never in the history of mankind has there been so much violent death in the world. Three-fourths of mankind lives in countries that have given up the historic protection of unborn babies.

Other nations are being pressured to accept abortion. Given low birthrates, the whole West is already virtually dying out. The total number of abortions - by surgery, pill, IUD or other destructive interference - can only be imagined.

The toll is enormous. In a situation of this nature, the Risen Lord challenges us 'to love and let live', sharing in the New Life brought about by Jesus Christ. Jesus' victory over death is a starting point of a pro-life movement. By rising from the dead, Jesus gave meaning to life. This is an invitation to respect, cherish and protect life in order to be worthy partakers of the joy of Easter in all its abundance. Life is sacred from the time of fertilization.

When judged from the viewpoint of morality, the abortion of a conceived human life is a transgression of God's commandment and an insult to the Risen Lord from whom life flows in all its fullness.

Therefore, Easter, in its celebration of life, invites us to uphold the sacredness of life in the light of Christ's resurrection from the dead.

Human wisdom and faith illuminated by supernatural light, perceive greatness in a new human being, which escapes the perspectives of microscopes and workings of chemical reactions.

No human life comes into existence unless God Himself brings His almighty creative power into action. Therefore, life is a result of God's creative power with the instrumentality of human agents as parents.

Our limited appreciation of Christ's incarnation and resurrection, which is the continuation of the incarnation beyond death, would certainly help us to appreciate what happens when God creates a human person in the genetic materials presented.

God honours the parents by entrusting the new life to them for their love and keeping. An abortion is a wrongful betrayal of this entrustment given by God to parents, and is a grave injustice to the child, who has rights received directly from God, supported by Christ's resurrection, independent of the consent of society.

Reverence for newly conceived life is therefore reverence shown to God and accepting the Risen Lord into our lives. It is basic to our faith and to human justice and culture.

Apostolate for life is the invitation of Easter.

"Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins" (James 5:19-20). And in today's context, one who persuades a woman from killing her child, or a doctor or nurse from participating in the killing, save such a person "from death" as written by St. James, and covers over a multitude of sins his own and those of others.

Also he radiates the glory of the Risen Lord to a world darkened by the "culture of death". For those who have engaged in this crime in any way, the Risen Lord invites to recover completely, and even receive a bonus. The labourers, who stood idle in the marketplace until the eleventh hour, were paid a full day's wage after they worked during just one hour (cf. Mt. 22:8).

The prodigal son, who returned safely and wiser after his fling abroad, was happier at home therafter than he had been before his learning experience (cf. LK. 15:32). Tearful Peter was more attached to Christ after denying Him and repenting than the boastful Peter he had been before (compare the three times of denial in Jn. 18:15-17, 25-27 with the three times of affirmation of the promise of love in Jn 21:15-19).

Converted abortionists are always welcome back into God's family! People of all faiths who wish to be citizens of the "Culture of life", experiencing Christ's resurrection in their lives, would do well to emulate the examples of one of the greatest pro-life activists of all time - Pope John Paul II, the author of "Evangelium Vitae".

Let me state here one of his strong pro-life statements: "All human beings ought to value every person for his or her uniqueness as a creature of God, called to be a brother or a sister of Christ by reason of the incarnation and the universal redemption. For us, the sacredness of human life is based on these premises.

And it is on these same premises that there is based our celebration of life - all human life. This explains our efforts to defend human life against every influence or action that threatens or weakens it, as well as, our endeavours to make every life more human in all its aspects" (Homily, Capitol Mall, Washington, D.C., 1979).

The more one experiences the Mystery of Christ's resurrection from the dead, the more human and pro-life he becomes! Therefore, lit us choose the "culture of life" against the "culture of death" as it derives from the core meaning of Easter, the death of death in Jesus!

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