Halleluya! A Easter Message

28 March 2024|JRS Europe

Related: Belgium, JRS Europe
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HALLELUYA!

In this Easter season, we are invited by our Christian tradition to walk with Jesus in his journey to Jerusalem. For JRS, this journey is part of our mission. We walk alongside so many refugees and displaced people seeking refuge and meaning in their lives.

At their side, we learn and understand better the essential elements of life, such as hospitality, vulnerability, solidarity, peace, resilience, fraternity, and hope.

A journey in which we share moments of light and shadow, celebrating failures and victories. At times, like Jesus, we are misunderstood or persecuted for defending the dignity and rights of refugees and migrants in our world.

Sometimes we accompany people who lose their lives in search of a better life. Easter reminds us that no life, even if it seems lost at the bottom of the sea, beaten or trapped within the walls of a detention centre, loses a shred of dignity, and will never be forgotten.

Easter is also a time to give thanks for the dedication, commitment, and love of so many people who are involved in the JRS mission. Volunteers who every day accompany families in our communities of hospitality, professionals who attend to legal needs, and so many anonymous people whose support makes it possible for us to keep hope alive.

Easter is the essential time of our faith because we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. To celebrate Easter is to take time to look at the obvious signs that life has conquered death: An empty tomb, some bandages, the shroud on the ground, and Jesus saying to us “Peace be with you”.

In our JRS mission we receive an invitation to recognise the signs of love and hope in our daily lives, in our projects, in our communities and families….

The victory today is that love has conquered death and meaninglessness.

The victory is the joy of our refugee and displaced brothers and sisters.

The victory is that love will always be present in our lives. 

 

HALLELUYA!

 

Alberto Ares, SJ