04/14/2026
We rush through Holy Week, we weep at the Cross, we rejoice at midnight, we say “Christ is Risen,” and then - almost quietly - we return to our routines as if something beautiful has simply passed. As if Pascha were the conclusion of a sacred story … rather than the beginning of a new life.
But the Holy Gospel does not begin with an ending … but it begins from the very first page with the Holy Resurrection.
In the life of the Church, everything flows from the empty Tomb. Every Sunday is Pascha. Every Divine Liturgy is a living encounter with the Risen Christ. The Church does not say, “It is finished,” and walk away … she proclaims, “Christ is Risen,” and invites us to begin again.
And yet, how often do we treat Pascha as the closing chapter of our traditions, lighting our candles, exchanging greetings, attending the services, but leaving unchanged. We hold onto our fears, our habits, our brokenness, as if the stone were never rolled away. We celebrate the Resurrection outwardly… but inwardly we remain in our dark tomb.
The truth is this … that, the Resurrection, is not the end of something. It is the beginning of everything.
Christ rises not simply to be remembered, but to be lived. He rises so that our despair may become hope, our wounds may become healing, our darkness may be filled with light. He rises so that we may also rise … with new thoughts, new choices, new beginnings.
Pascha is not behind us .. but before us!!
Every day is now an invitation to live as resurrected people, to forgive when it is difficult, to love when it is inconvenient,
to trust when it feels impossible.
Friends, let us NOT leave the joy of the Resurrection at the doors of the Church.
Let us carry it into our homes, our struggles, our daily lives.
Because in the Risen Christ, nothing is over.
Everything has just begun !!
Christ is Risen! Χριστός Ανέστη!
Fr. Avgoustinos
