Archbishop Bernard Hebda processes in an empty Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis for Easter Sunday Mass April 11. Public Masses are suspended in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to help prevent spread of COVID-19. Dave Hrbacek | The Catholic Spirit

Encouraging the faithful to be witnesses to the joy of the risen Christ even in the midst of hardship, Archbishop Hebda said Easter Sunday that the crisis of COVID-19 provides an opportunity to serve others, to “go the extra mile,” to demonstrate that “we have a share in Christ’s everlasting life because of his resurrection.”

“We have to be joyful even in the midst of a global pandemic,” the archbishop said April 12 in a Mass live-streamed from the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. “We have to be able to give witness by our service, by our outlook, by our joy, that we believe there is more to life than what we see in these days. And that we have a share in Jesus’ resurrected life.”

Sharing a homily and celebrating the Mass before a basilica that lay empty because of a suspension of all public Masses in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to help prevent spread of the coronavirus, the archbishop encouraged people listening and viewing in their homes to be witnesses to Christ’s love through service to others and to trust that Christ “has a plan, and indeed, has the ability to make all things work for the good of those who love him.”

Their witness to Christ, risen from the dead, and what that means in people’s lives is the greatest gift the Apostles, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and other early followers of Christ have given to the world. People have been trusting their witness and following their example for more than 2,000 years, Archbishop Hebda said.

In the first centuries of Christianity, as plagues and pestilence set upon Rome, the Christians stepped forward to care for those who were sick, the archbishop said. The Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate worried that Christianity would grow because Christians served the sick and the poor, he said.

“It’s that Christian perspective that gives credibility to our witness,” the archbishop said.

Archbishop Hebda delivered a similar message of hope in Christ’s redemption and the promise of eternal life with him in his homily at the Easter Vigil April 11 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

Celebrating the Mass, which was live-streamed from the largely empty cathedral, the archbishop described the experience as “gut-wrenching” because there was no congregation present, the Easter fire and  the procession of flame from candle to candle, believer to believer, did not take place.

But the series of readings from Genesis and the Garden of Eden to the flood in Noah’s time and Pharaoh’s enslavement of the Israelites demonstrate that God is patient and the faithful remain his sons and daughters, through all trials and hardships, the archbishop said. God holds true and will never break his covenant of everlasting love, Archbishop Hebda said.

In the course of all challenges, the Lord wants to replace our stony hearts with human hearts, said the archbishop, adding, “how encouraging is that?”

God keeps his promises and rewards trust in the midst of adversity, the archbishop said. God “makes all things work for the good of those who love him, whether it be a flood, an obstinate Pharaoh, a long sojourn in Egypt, a cross, even a microscopic virus,” the archbishop said.

Jesus suffered and died for us, Archbishop Hebda said. His resurrection affirms the importance of following his way, of “loving our enemies, of serving our brothers sisters, of forgiving from the heart, of going the extra mile. We who are baptized in Christ share in his resurrection. That’s a game-changer, brothers and sisters.”

“If Jesus can love us that much, surely we shouldn’t feel alone at this our time of need,” he said. “We have more that awaits us with Jesus in heaven. That’s the source of our strength and joy, even in the midst of a pandemic.”