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My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Easter is a glorious feast. It gives the Christian great strength and joy. By His Resurrection from the dead, Jesus has proved His divinity and thereby given us the strong foundation and assurance for our faith. There is, however, another message contained in the Gospels and the post-resurrection events. That message is shalom - peace. Jesus used this greeting in His appearances to certain individuals after He rose from the dead. Peace, what a wonderful greeting and what a wonderful gift of the Lord to His disciples. How great is our desire to hear that word from Jesus today. Our world is greatly in need of the peace of Christ. So many are involved in violence and as I write these words our own nation is at war. May Jesus bring an end to hostilities so that His peace may reign. We pray also for peace and tranquility in our Church and throughout the world that the Gospel message may be preached without hindrance or distraction. The Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples after His Resurrection and commissioned them to go into the whole world and preach the Gospel. From this commissioning has come the impetus and motivation for believers through the ages. Now in our day, it is for us baptized Christians to make the Gospel known and operative in the world around us. This great feast of Easter gives us all a wonderful opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the mission which is ours by our baptism, namely, to make the Risen Jesus known in the world by the example of our Christian lives. May the peace and joy of Easter be yours! With every prayerful best wish, I remain Sincerely in Christ, +Daniel A. Cronin
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