No 29 Easter 2021

Quarr Abbey Steps - Cream

Easter Joy

The Cross is the great Christian symbol. It evokes Jesus who died on a cross on the Friday before the great Sabbath of Pessah, the Jewish feast of Easter. Whereas free men condemned to death were beheaded, slaves were crucified. Pontius Pilate had thousands of men crucified. No death was deemed more abject.

Christian faith has it that the same Jesus rose from the dead on the morning of the first day after the Sabbath – which was to become the Day of the Lord, our Sunday, the first day of the Christian week. How is it then that Christians chose the Cross as their main symbol instead of an image of Christ getting out of the tomb with the full energy of the Resurrection?

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Easter Message 2026

Easter at Quarr is a good season to learn again that
Flowers open after winter months of apparent death,
Birds sing joyfully as they build new nests for their little ones to come,
Lambs gamble and bleat in the meadows.
Even roads reopen (!) giving access to visitors old and new – all welcome!

Will our hearts open, too,
To make peace after conflicts and wars
To forgive after disputes
To foster every human life from its conception to its natural end,
To bring a smile of hope on all faces around?

“Christ is risen from the dead.”
Happy Easter to you all!

Abbot Xavier and the Community