When you and I turn to the Holy Scriptures and read about those radiant days when the Lord appeared after His Resurrection, let us reflect on something very important which we may not all have noticed. He appeared to many people, but to each of them in a different way. On one occasion it was the weeping Mary Magdalene, grieving alone by the empty tomb; another time it was Peter, confused and troubled after returning from the garden, where he had found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Later we see the disciples on the lake. John senses the Lord's presence in his heart and recognizes Him; Peter plunges in at once and swims to Him. Then, as we read in the letters of the Apostle Paul, among the last people to whom the Lord appeared was Paul himself-or Saul, who used to persecute the Church of God.
This continues even now. The risen Christ is unseen, but manifests Himself perceptibly to each of us. Any one of us who in our lives has sensed, even for a moment, the proximity of another world has had an encounter with the risen Lord. He comes to everyone, knocking at the door of their hearts and finds His own words for each one. Our task is to listen, to respond to that knock, for the Lord has come to save, revive and change the lives of each one of us. So on Pascha, as we return to our homes, may each of us take that joy away with us in our hearts; along with the thought that the Lord has manifested Himself to me, He has risen for my sake as well. He speaks to me, He remains with me and always will-as my Lord, my Savior and my God.
May the Lord preserve you.
Christ is risen!
These words were written by Fr. Alexander Men, a faithful and well known priest in Russia who was martyred for Christ in 1990.
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