Archbishop Bernard Hebda delivers the homily during Easter Mass April 17 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. COURTESY BASILICA OF ST. MARY

“How wonderful to hear those alleluias and be able to proclaim in a full Basilica that Christ is truly risen,” said Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis as he greeted the faithful April 17 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. Given he was addressing them at an Easter morning Mass, the archbishop began his homily describing a cartoon of a chocolate Easter bunny on a psychiatrist’s couch.

“What brings you here, sir?” asked the psychiatrist. And the chocolate bunny replied, “I’m feeling so hollow inside these days.” 

Given the unsettling news out of Ukraine, another COVID-19 variant and many reports of record-breaking inflation and crime rates, it’s not surprising that, like the chocolate bunny, “we might have been feeling somewhat hollow these days, as well,” Archbishop Hebda said. The rigors of Lent can bring us down “and the weatherman hasn’t been helping either,” he said. 

But the rituals and readings of Easter celebrations point to the reality of Christ’s victory over death, he said, which should “fill us with hope and compel us to go forward in joy-filled service.” In the midst of a hurting world, “we have the privilege and, indeed, the obligation to proclaim that sin and death aren’t victorious,” the archbishop said. “Christ is risen. He is truly risen.” 

Archbishop Hebda addressed a full house attending the 90-minute 9:30 a.m. Mass filled with music from musicians and a choir, and set in a beautifully decorated worship space, including a giant wreath attached to a suspended cross.  

The resurrection “changed everything” and continues to do so, Archbishop Hebda said. “It should remind us that we have a God who loves us deeply in spite of our weaknesses and our sinfulness, a God who desires to be with us in our sorrow and confusion, a God who desires to lift us out of our malaise.” 

In the days to come this Easter season, the archbishop said the faithful would be hearing at Mass about the powerful transformation of the Apostles and disciples as they made the transition from “the reality of Good Friday” — the low point of human history, he said, as “the innocent Jesus was put to death” — to the high point, as they encountered the risen Lord, “who breathed on them the reconciling breath of the Holy Spirit, who offered them forgiveness, who sent them forth into the world to make disciples of all  nations.” 

It’s not hard to imagine that Mary Magdalene and the Apostles would have been despondent after losing their beloved teacher, Archbishop Hebda said. Yet, when they hear of his resurrection, gaze into the empty tomb or encounter the risen Christ, “their hearts are burning within them,” he said. They are overjoyed, given reason for hope, a hope that has been communicated for 20 centuries, he said.  

“The resurrection rocked their world and can rock ours as well, if we allow it,” the archbishop said.  

The Exsultet (Easter proclamation sung at the Easter vigil) spoke of the sanctifying power of Easter that dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen and joy to mourners, drives out hatred … and brings down the mighty, Archbishop Hebda said.  

“It’s that power, that amazing power, that phenomenal power that we hunger for in Ukraine, in our Twin Cities and in our homes,” he said. “It’s that power that has drawn so many this year to the waters of baptism and to the other Easter sacraments here at the Basilica and throughout the archdiocese and around the world. It’s nothing that we deserve, but a gift that we’re freely given.” 

During recent Synod consultations throughout the archdiocese, he said it was clear that the local Church is looking for new ways to grow “in our Easter faith and to share it effectively with others.” “Easter naturally leads us to the work of evangelization, the sharing of our personal experience of Christ,” he said.  

As the congregation would be renewing baptismal promises following the homily, Archbishop Hebda said, “May our memories of our celebration of those sacraments fill us up with a reminder of God the Father’s great love revealed in the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus. Touched by the Holy Spirit, may we join the newly initiated in giving praise to such a loving God, carrying Easter in our hearts to a world very much in need.” 

At the end of Mass, Archbishop Hebda thanked Basilica staff and volunteers, and asked congregants to continue to take the Easter message forward “into our homes and into our communities with great hope and conviction. … We can offer credibility by the way that we lead our lives.”