To celebrate the Easter season this year, we think the best way to express our sentiments is to allow the leaders of the Church to share some inspiring insights, in their own words.

What follows are snippets of what some had to say regarding Easter 2012 durng their celebrations of the Triduum:

“With regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify. Faith, then, which reveals God’s light to us, is the true enlightenment, enabling God’s light to break into our world, opening our eyes to true light.”
— Pope Benedict XVI

“You listen to the news all day, and there’s enough there to make us cry. There’s enough there to say, ‘Is life literally going to hell?’ Easter Sunday says No. It might seem like it; it might seem like those three hours of Good Friday had the last word, but No, the empty tomb does.” — Cardinal Timothy Dolan, New York

 “The resurrection of Jesus Christ happened, but it is not past. It happened ‘once for all’ and continues to work in our midst. The ‘hour’ of Jesus, his death and resurrection, has come, and we are in it! The event of his new life abides and remains.” — Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Galveston-Houston

“He is risen. He is truly risen. And, my brothers and sisters, what more could we ever want, to know that his resurrection is real?”— Archbishop Jose Gomez, Los Angeles

“In giving his life for us, Jesus asks us to live our lives for others. He asks us to share in his work of redemption. That’s why the Gospel is never merely a call to be ‘nice’ to others. There’s nothing sweet about Golgotha. Life in Jesus Christ is a call to heroic and self-sacrificing love.” — Archbishop Charles Chaput, Philadelphia

“The resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ. It reveals to us that Jesus is truly the Son of God. All his works and teachings are confirmed. His divine authority is proven. His resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life.” — Bishop Kevin Rhoades, Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind.

“The Resurrection is meant for you and for me. The words ‘Christ is risen, Christ is truly risen, Alleluia, Alleluia’ are our words as a result of these sacraments. Not only is Christ risen, but we are risen in him and his new life as part of his new creation.” — Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Washington

 “Joy comes when many years of suffering and adversity are overcome; when an extended battle with cancer appears to be won; when a forgiving father welcomes home a prodigal son; when a political prisoner is finally released from captivity; and when love and fidelity are victorious over evil. This is Easter joy — the Lord’s triumph over sin and death, the forgiveness of our sins, and the opening up of the gates of heaven to all God’s children.” — Archbishop Robert Carlson, St. Louis

 “Being a disciple of the risen Lord means being part of the Church and being part of the community of believers that accepts the mission that Jesus has given us: to share the Good News that we have received with the world.” — Cardinal Seàn O’Malley, Boston

“Lent is now ended, but the time for conversion of our hearts is always today. … Human nature, the language of creation, turned against itself can lead nowhere except ultimate destruction. … Let the beauty of the cross shine forth, so that the Christ, who is lifted up, can draw all people to himself through you. Let our Easter symbol remain the beautiful cross, which speaks of God’s love and God’s law.”— Bishop Robert Morlino, Madison, Wis.

“It is important that the world is able to see the face of Jesus at this moment in time. For it is the Lord, risen from the dead, who desires to be present to this broken and bruised world through you.” — Bishop Joseph McFadden, Harrisburg, Pa.

“Freedom rings through every part of the Easter event. The stone is rolled away from the entrance to the tomb. Christ rises from the dead and goes forth freed from death, able to free all of us from the fear of death and any hold it has on us. When the apostles spoke of Christ’s resurrection, they spoke of a new freedom. ... The first and greatest freedom is the freedom of religion, the freedom to respond to the love of God, to shape our own lives in moral and religious matters, the freedom to be what God calls us to be and to do what he asks us to do.” — Bishop Thomas Olmsted, Phoenix