The following is Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron's Easter message.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In the first public preaching that Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, St. Peter quoted this verse from the Book of Psalms: "My flesh ... will dwell in hope, because you, [Lord] will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption" (Ps. 16:10). And then Peter, as the chief of the Apostles, went on to proclaim that the Psalmist's confident hope was fulfilled in Jesus: "He foresaw and spoke of the Resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption. God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses" (Acts, 2:25, 31-32).

In my role of keeping alive, in our time and place, the apostolic witness, united with St. Peter's successor and all the other bishops of the world, I, too, testify that God the Father has raised Jesus from the dead. His grave is empty. His flesh and body did not see corruption.

It is my most ardent and heartfelt hope that this good news will bring you and those you love great joy this Easter. The Lord Jesus lives in glory, and we who belong to him will live with him forever.

To deepen and reinforce the gladness that this good news brings, I would like to reflect briefly on Jesus' Resurrection and his deliverance from "corruption," just as the Psalmist foresaw and Peter preached.

At the most immediate level we understand that because Jesus rose he escaped the decay that follows upon death. The elements of his physical being did not know the dissolution that, without the intervention of his Father, would have been a natural consequence of death. The father preserved him from that fate, which is our common lot since the sin of Adam and Eve, by raising his Son to a new life, an immortal life, life at his right hand in glory.

In the resurrection of the body -- a truth we affirm each time we offer the Apostles Creed -- this same deliverance is offered to all of us, with whom Christ has shared his Holy Spirit. For a time our bodies will rest in the grave, but on the Last Day we will rise, rise with Christ, like him rescued from corruption. Like Jesus, in our flesh we stand before the Father.

However, personal physical corruption is not the only sort of dissolution from which Christ rescues us. I have in mind particularly how the resurrected life Jesus won by his death is deliverance form the dissolution of the bonds that join us to those we love. This is clear in St. John's Gospel. In commenting on the words of Caiaphas, St. John observes that the high priest, in fact, "prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God" (Jn 11:51-52).

The fruit of sin is not only the dissolution of our physical selves, the corruption of our flesh. Sin also dissolves our bonds with those we hold dear. And so, Christ's victory over death is victory over this sort of disintigration.

First, and most obviously, as a result of the fall, we lose those we love to death. Because of our wounded nature they seem to be irrevocably gone. The good news is that Christ has raised us from the fall; he has healed our nature, and made it even stronger than he first created it. We will have our beloved dead restored to us. When in the flesh we see God, we will see them, too.

Secondly, sin puts us at odds with one another; it spawns every form of dissention and betrayal -- the worst being alienation from those we most want to hold close. The resurrection of Jesus makes present in us his own power to overcome every form of strife and the selfishness that gives rise to it. Jesus' triumph over death is total and unconditional, because he is victorious over sin, the cause of death. In triumphing over sin in you and me, he makes it possible for us to "remain in his love," to remain together in his love.

In conquering sin and death at his rising, Jesus gathers into one all the dispersed children of God. He vanquishes the power of corruption, of dissolution. This is the very best of news. You will never lose Jesus, and you will never lose those you love since we and they are held fast in the hand of Christ. Not even death is stronger than him and his grip.

So, yes, indeed rejoice. You will be preserved for eternity, and so will those you love: your parents who have passed on before you, your spouse for whom your heart continues to ache, the child taken from you so all-too-early, for whom you grieve every day. All that the world counts lost is gathered  up and preserved from dissolution. God's love is all-powerful, triumphant in Christ -- triumphant in us, who are in him.

"By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad" (Ps 188: 23-24).

A blessed Easter to you all,

Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron