Easter 2025
Life in Its Fullness!

Easter Message from Boston College, Chestnut Hill
April 20, 2025
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." -Martin Luther King Jr.

On this Easter morning, as light filters gently through the early spring trees of New England, I find myself walking the quiet paths of Boston College—founded in 1863 with a mission both timeless and urgent: to educate the whole person—mind, heart, and spirit.

Rooted in the Jesuit tradition, Boston College is more than a university. It is a living invitation to question deeply, to serve generously, and to believe—sometimes despite everything—that renewal is always possible.

And that is what Easter means to me now—not just a creed or calendar date, but a quiet defiance of despair. It is the slow, courageous rising after grief. It is the decision to begin again, even when we are tired. It is the deep, unspoken truth that even after loss, something beautiful can still be born.

Here, in this place of learning and longing, surrounded by world-class programs in the humanities, sciences, business, law, theology, and education, I have come to see that resurrection is not only a spiritual metaphor. It is also academic, emotional, and profoundly human. It is the student who returns to class after heartbreak. The professor who lights a fire in weary minds. The community that chooses to hope when the headlines say otherwise.

We are heirs to a legacy that began with the Society of Jesus—men who believed education could transform the world, beginning with the soul. And today, that legacy lives on, not just in classrooms and libraries, but in the quiet choices we make to rise with integrity, to walk with compassion, and to live as if love still has the final word.

So, to all who carry heaviness this Easter—who feel stuck, forgotten, or alone—know this: you are not abandoned in your Good Friday. Resurrection may be delayed, but it is never denied.

From Boston College, I send this message with hope, humility, and deep gratitude—for the chance to rise, again and again, in the company of others who still believe in the ever-abiding light (of love!).

"I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance."  (Joh 10:10)

He is risen. Indeed! So may we all be.  In spite of our own vulnerabilities!
Happy Easter.

— A pilgrim still learning to rise with grace