Archbishop urges people attending Basilica Easter Mass to be ‘people of hope’

A year ago, Archbishop Bernard Hebda delivered his Easter homily to empty pews at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. This year, he was back in the pulpit, but with a sizable in-person congregation.

“What a great privilege to see so many of you here,” he said at the beginning of Mass. “We get to celebrate that, indeed, Jesus is truly risen.”

Though social distancing and masking rules still applied, the relaxing of restrictions meant that people could celebrate Christ’s resurrection and worship together at the Basilica and at churches across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. That brought joy to Archbishop Hebda, who smiled at the beginning of his homily as he looked out at the pews and at the people gathered for Mass.

“In this very difficult year, I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to coming here to the Basilica for Easter Mass,” he said. “To hear the Alleluia sung or the beautiful Easter sequence, ‘Victimae Paschale Laudes’ — no one does it quite like the Basilica.”

He noted the presence of children with their parents, and pointed out the importance of passing on the faith, especially that Jesus Christ “is truly risen.”

“That reality changes everything,” he said.

As he commented on the Easter Gospel passage from John, Archbishop Hebda took note of “two grown men who run at full speed” after hearing Mary Magdalene come back with a report that the tomb where Jesus had been placed was now empty.

“There’s nothing that they want to do more than to see for themselves; and so, they run,” the archbishop said of Peter and John. He went on to describe Peter’s transformation from a “man who was timid and afraid once Jesus was put to death,” to a man who believed that “there’s nothing else that’s important in his life than talking about that empty tomb and what Jesus has done for us.”
He said the resurrection is transformative for all of humanity.

“All of history changes with that empty tomb,” Archbishop Hebda said. The day before Easter, he saw a two-page spread in the Wall Street Journal about the significance of the resurrection for Christians. However, the story featured on those two pages — and described in the Gospel accounts — comes with a challenge.

“We have to ask, brothers and sisters: Are we really cognizant of that reality?” the archbishop asked. “Do we come here today because we want to celebrate that fact that the risen Lord has changed our lives as he changed that of Peter and John and Mary? … Do we recognize that same kind of hope that Jesus gave to them — a hope that changed their lives, a hope that can change ours?”

Archbishop Hebda pointed out how difficult the last year has been in the Twin Cities, both with the pandemic and the death of George Floyd, which triggered civil unrest that included riots and extensive damage in both south Minneapolis and St. Paul.

“We’re all uneasy,” he said. “And yet, we, as people of faith, have to be willing to proclaim that hope that comes from knowing that we have a God who loves us so much that he would die for us, and rise for us. It changes everything in our lives. It gives us a new optic for looking at the challenges of the world. … We can’t be pessimists. We have to be people of hope, even in the most difficult of situations.”

“I hope that’s why you’re here this morning,” he added. “I hope that’s why you’ve brought your children — to hear that message, to be transformed by that message.”

Later in the day, he and Bishop Andrew Cozzens stood outside the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and gave blessings to people in their cars as they drove by. They did the same thing last year, though in temperatures about 40 degrees colder and with snow flurries.