Michael Kelly
Archbishop Eamon blessed residents of a nursing home in Armagh whe are cocooned. Róise McGagh
Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All-Ireland has issued a hopeful message for the people of Ireland after the announcement of extended coronavirus restrictions until May 5.
In his Easter message the archbishop shared a memory of his mother, “leaving a basin of water out in the back yard on a bright Easter Sunday morning and inviting us to look in and watch the sun dance! ‘The sun dances on Easter morning’, she told us.”
He acknowledged the difficulty faced by people in the current crisis and reiterated Pope Francis’ statement that we must not be ‘robbed of hope’.
“In a strange way these days of seclusion have been helping us stop and think about what we value and perhaps even question some of the ways we have been living our lives.
“An old medieval carol about the life of Jesus promises that ‘Tomorrow shall be my dancing day’. We still have a long way to go in the fight against Covid-19 and its consequences. There will be many more sacrifices to make before this is all over.
“But as surely as Christ rose on Easter morning, we will come through this, hopefully as better people, strengthened by the experience,” he said.
The Primate, speaking of how Irish people should not lose hope, explained how the Easter story begins as one of ‘darkness and sorrow’ as Jesus’ disciples are hidden away, lonely and afraid. However when Christ rose from the dead, he brought back a glimmer of hope for them.
“The stone was rolled away from the entrance to the tomb. He entered through the closed doors of the place where the disciples were and he said to them ‘peace be with you.’”
He stated the importance of the sacrifices being made to adhere to the restrictions in place that are to last for three more weeks. He also said: “Please God it won’t be too long before we can go back to singing and dancing together, to meeting and greeting, travelling and discovering, and gathering in church to celebrate and praise God.”