Christ has Conquered, Glory fills you.

Happy and Blessed Easter!
 

The Lamb is Victorious, Christ has Conquered, Glory fills you.

Satan lies imprisoned, bound. He has been defeated by Christ, he has been rejected by those who have renewed their baptismal promises, by the "swarm" who have been washed clean, by those who have confessed their sins: handed over their old lives for new life in Christ.

Satan has no more power over us, the Kingdom of darkness flees before the Morning Star, Christ our Light. Savation has come like the "Dawn that visits us from on High" to remain with us. We are of the Day, we are not of the Night. We live in the "Day of the Lord".

Again and again, punctuating the Gospel, first of all angels say, "Do not be afraid", "Do not be afraid Mary", to Joseph, "Do not be afraid to take Mary home", to the Shepherds, "Do not be afraid". Jesus says it as he walks across lake, "Do not be afraid, it is I". The same words are said to the women at the tomb by the Angel, "Do not be afraid but go tell the disciple ...", it is a part of the Easter message, "Do not be afraid, it is the Lord!".

The only power Satan has over us now, after the Resurrection, is the power of fear. In fact it is the power we are willing to give him. It is power we take from Christ, the Glory that belongs to him. Satan's power is merely illusionary, it depends on lies and on our willingness to believe the lies. He is the Lord of Lies. The lie is really "God is not Great", "God is not Almighty", "Satan has not been conquered", "The Cross has not Triumphed".

The illusion is similar, it is that we are still bound, still trapped, still living the old life, still the old Man.
In baptism, in the Sacrament of Penance, we hand over to Christ the our old life, the old man; for a new Life and the New Man. The sins we cling on to, for fear of giving them up is where we give him power.

It is fear and a lack of trust that stops us living the New Life of Christ that stops us from putting out into the deep. The gates of hell have been broken down, the locks and chains that held us prisoner are cast into the abyss, Satan is stripped and bound and is postrate under the Triumphant Lord's feet and he now leads Adam and Eve from death and their slavery to sin, along with all mankind into his New Life, if only we will believe in his Victory.