By Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, Archbishop of Perth
As we celebrate Easter this year we are still experiencing the excitement and hopefulness generated by the election of Cardinal Bergoglio as our new Pope Francis.
After the surprise resignation of Benedict XVI and the uncertainty this caused for many, Pope Francis’ election reminds us that the Lord is still with the Church and will never abandon us.
As we confront the failures and frailties of our Catholic community, and especially of some in whom we have placed so much trust, we can easily forget that this very human institution, the Church, is also a divine reality, established by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Pope Francis’ election provides us with an opportunity to recall Christ’s words to Peter: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.
Jesus was not speaking only of evil outside the Church. He was also speaking of what Benedict XVI once called “a tremendous cloud of filth darkening and soiling everything inside the Church”.
Yet even this evil, which must be confronted and eradicated with courage and boldness, will not destroy the Church for in the end it is the Lord’s Church, not ours.
Perhaps at Easter, more than at any other time, all of this becomes particularly clear to us. As Jesus approached his suffering and death, he was abandoned by almost all of his closest and most trusted followers. Peter denied him, Judas betrayed him to death, and all but the Beloved Disciple deserted him.
And yet after his resurrection, with the exception of Judas, all these disciples were not only forgiven by Jesus but entrusted with the leadership of his community.
It was to them that Jesus gave this commission: as the Father sent me so am I sending you.
Even more significantly it was to Peter, who had denied him three times, that Jesus entrusted the continuance of his mission: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. The forgiveness and trust of Jesus are tangible signs of the new and abundant life which the risen Jesus offers us.
This new life begins now, as we are drawn into communion with him through prayer and the sacraments. It flowers into fullness as our earthly journey comes to an end and we behold God face to face in heaven.
Peter and the other disciples would never have been able to forget the shame and degradation of the crucifixion, or their dismal part in it.
But similarly they would also never forget that their failure, infidelity and sin was met with forgiveness, compassion and love.
And indeed, perhaps it was their recognition of the extraordinary goodness of God in the face of their own failure that opened them to the transforming power of God’s Spirit.
In the end they all gave their lives for Christ. It will be the same for us, as individuals and as the Church.
It will be our honest recognition of the sin, the shame and the failure which are a part of our lives as members of the Church which will open us to the healing and transforming power of God’s Spirit.
In the joy of the Risen Christ, I wish you all a very happy and hope-filled Easter.