Easter Pastoral 2026
In his 2026 Easter Pastoral, Bishop Richard F. Reidy reflects on the hope, peace, and joy of the Resurrection, reminding the faithful that Christ’s victory over sin and death remains the foundation of our hope in every trial.
Bishop Richard F. Reidy’s Easter Message
“Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here... He has been raised” (Luke 24:5).The angelic announcement to the women at Jesus’ tomb on Easter forever changed their lives and our world. Laden with spices to anoint the body of the One in whom they had placed their hopes—hopes that had seemingly been dashed with Jesus’ Good Friday death on the Cross—the grieving women could not immediately comprehend the news. They were, at one and the same time, amazed and fearful, puzzled and overjoyed. They had struggled to make sense of His death. Now, they struggled to make sense of His Resurrection. And then the Risen Jesus greeted them, “Do not be afraid.” They remembered His words (He would rise on the third day), and leaving behind their grief and the spices to anoint the dead, with joy, they ran to tell the good news about the One who was very much alive.
In the Easter Sequence we hear “Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous...” Contend they did. Sin, death and evil threw everything they had at Jesus on Calvary. With His death on the Cross, they seemed to win. But goodness, mercy and life had the last word. “He is not here. He has been raised.”
Sin, death and evil cast shadows in our world and wreak havoc in our lives. Wars abroad, rancor and division at home, injustice and indifference among peoples, cause hardship, loss and sorrow. We need to recall and nurture the hope that Easter brings. Belief in the Resurrection and trust in Christ’s promises are the antidote that gives ballast in storms and hope in trials so that we may know that all hardship, loss and sorrows, however real, will pass with the triumph of God’s goodness, mercy and life.
May that hope give you peace and joy in this Easter Season and throughout the whole of your life.
In Christ,
Most Reverend Richard F. Reidy
Bishop of Norwich
