This Easter many of us are acquainted with the isolation of lockdown and fear. Our world’s inequalities have been made more visible by COVID-19, and many who were already struggling – the single mother, the unaccompanied minor, the precarious worker – have been further marginalized and made more vulnerable.

COVID-19 has also revealed that humanity is very much alive. People all over the world are joining forces to care for the sick, those who have lost loved ones, and those whose lives have been upended. People want to stay connected: we find streaming Sunday masses, WhatsApp calls, impromptu concerts, and more.

We crave what we had taken for granted. But when social distancing ends and we come back to a different world, how will we keep alive what we learned through the crisis?

The disciples faced the same challenge after Good Friday. Disheartened and confused, Jesus’ message seemed irrelevant. Yet in that darkness, life was renewed.

The gospel of Luke tells us of two disciples fleeing Jerusalem for the village of Emmaus. A stranger joins them on the road; he interprets the scriptures, gives them courage, and breaks bread with them to reveal himself as the risen Jesus. Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road?, they say to one another after he is gone. (Luke 24.32) Jesus is risen; his message of compassion and hope is alive!

This Easter more than others, Jesus is risen into the ordinary moments of our lives — talking, walking, sharing a meal. While we wait for the post-COVID world, the resurrection breaks through in the moments of grace we experience daily, our daily bread.

That grace fills the generosity of JRS staff and volunteers even now. When Italy went into lockdown a month ago, JRS Italy/Centro Astalli adjusted its programmes overnight, closed its daily table (mensa) at Rome’s Gesù Church, and converted it to a take-away meal for the hundreds of migrants and refugees still coming each day.

Massimo, a volunteer with Centro Astalli, continues to help with food distribution. Massimo does this in the midst of COVID because of “the look in the faces” of the young migrants he has encountered over the years, and “their desire to start living again, between suffering and hope.”

This Easter may find us also between suffering and hope, yet Jesus tells us that grace will triumph. Our humanity is renewed through our commitment to the most marginalised and vulnerable. We at JRS are grateful for the graces of this Easter, and we will continue to walk alongside our sisters and brothers in Christ. I hope you will join us.

Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers at this time of grace and joy. Easter blessings