The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has said he hopes the public comes through the coronavirus pandemic “as better people, strengthened by the experience.
In his Easter message, Archbishop Eamon Martin said Catholics across the island were turning to online sources for religious services instead of attending Masses in church buildings due to restrictions on movement introduced in response to the outbreak.
“As surely as Christ rose on Easter morning, we will come through this, hopefully as better people, strengthened by the experience,” he said.
Archbishop Martin recalled an early childhood memory of his mother leaving a basin of water out in the back yard on a bright Easter Sunday morning and inviting her family “to look in”.
He said his mother told the family ‘the sun dances on Easter morning’ and that it was that kind of “message of joy and hope that we all need during these difficult days”.
Reflecting on the darkness and sorrow of the beginning of the biblical Easter story, he said disciples were “hidden away behind locked doors, isolated and feeling alone, fearing for their lives”.
“But when Christ rose from the dead he brought back the light of hope into the darkness of despair,” he added.
The archbishop said Easter is a reminder that people must not allow themselves to “robbed of hope”.
He said the ongoing crisis is teaching people about themselves and others, faith, hope, loving and caring and that the seclusion many are experiencing has helped them think about what they value in their lives.
Archbishop Martin urged the public to make sacrifices and “maintain the current restrictions in order to protect and save lives”.