As myrrh-bearers

Fr. Livio Tonello, director

It was not yet dawn when quick steps were heading towards the sad place of burial. In their hands ointments and linen to honour the hastily buried body in preparation for the upcoming feast. In the first light of dawn, the faces of the myrrh-bearers, Mary Magdalene and the other women, appeared diaphanous. The ritual homage with perfumes and balsams to their bridegroom, the Lord. But at the edge of the tomb, death’s taste is transformed into an expectation of life. The aromatic oils are now for the feast, filling the world with light fragrances. It is the Lord’s Easter; it is the victory of the Risen Saviour!

We too are myrrh-bearers in the present day. In an age that smells of death, with our faces bearing the marks of sadness and resignation, we carry the memories of ancient Christian splendours. Evangelical piety brings us close to daily mourning, bloody bandages and tombs that are not enough. Night still covers our way, and we can only offer funeral ointments to those who are no longer with us. Like the myrrh-bearers, we are still without hope, with mourning in our hearts and in solidarity with so many tragedies. They have taken the Lord away from this earth, and today, as then, does everything speak of absence?

No! Today, we are bearers of hope, for transforming myrrh and funeral aromas into balms of life and joy. We are sure that the empty tomb means life and a new beginning for the future of the world. Even if darkness still envelops humanity and arrogance stands against the defeated, as myrrh-bearers, we anticipate the new day. We bring light by offering care and attention to those who have not yet left the graves of resignation, by healing the wounds of the soul, by anointing the signs of violence with consolation and bandaging the wounds of broken hearts for proclaiming victory over evil and death. No more sad and resigned steps; no more sad and disappointed faces. It is no longer time to look for the living among the dead!

Because the dawn of a new day is coming, like a new creation. Happy Easter!