The Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, Bishop of Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate in the Kwahu Afram Plains, Eastern Region of Ghana, has made a passionate call to the faithful of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Donkorkrom, to draw close to Jesus, after the example of John, the beloved disciple, Mary Magdalene, and Peter.
He made this appeal in a homily during the April 5, 2026 Easter Day Mass at the Cathedral, concelebrated by Rev. Fr. Bernard Adjei Appiah, SVD, Cathedral Administrator.
The prelate invited the faithful to reflect on the personalities of John, the beloved disciple, Mary Magdalene, and Peter, featured in the day’s Gospel (John 20:1-9).
He opined that it was because of John’s closeness to Jesus, his deep love for him, and his faithful discipleship, that he was able to believe what he saw at the empty tomb; that Jesus had truly risen from the dead as he had foretold.
“He was with Jesus all through; in the Garden of Gethsemani, at his trial, on the way to Calvary, at the foot of the Cross, even at the tomb,” he affirmed, adding that it was this same faithful stewardship of John’s that made Jesus entrust his beloved Mother into his hands, and vice versa, at the foot of the Cross.
Buttressing the need for the Christians to love Jesus with a single-minded love, the Bishop underscored that, unlike Peter who might have been weighed down by many worries on account of his disloyalty, which prevented him from running as fast as he could to the tomb, John was able to run faster and be the first to arrive, because he had nothing to worry about; but total and sincere love for Jesus.
Touching on another Character in the Gospel narrative, Mary Magdalene, from whom the Lord had cast out many demons, Bishop Asiedu highlighted her deep love for Christ after experiencing his healing mercies upon her. She dedicated her entire life to serving Jesus, and nothing could separate her from him.
Elucidating further, he noted that it was the same love that propelled Mary Magdalene to follow Jesus during his sufferings and trials, through the three-hour journey to Calvary, at the point of the Crucifixion, and even when Jesus was laid in the tomb. “Death could not take away the love she had for Jesus,” he maintained.
The Bishop further pointed out that it was the love Mary had for Jesus that made her anxious to know, at the end of the Sabbath rest, what had happened to the body of Jesus; the reason why she courageously stepped out so early in the morning to visit the tomb.
According to his Lordship, some lessons could be drawn, even from the person of Peter, who had denied Jesus during his passion. He celebrated the transformative power of the Resurrection on Peter; the joy of the Resurrection, the Faith in the Resurrection, which empowered him to speak boldly about Jesus, before the same people he once feared, as echoed in the First Reading (Acts 10:34,37-43).
He opined that Peter was able to stand before the crowd and bear witness to his faith and love for Jesus, because he too had come to know Jesus and love him, and would not hesitate to go closer to him, because he knew that the very “compassionate, loving and forgiving” Jesus, will give him a second chance, no matter what.
The Chief Shepherd challenged the faithful to reflect on their relationship with God. Will they be happy to hear that the Lord has appeared somewhere? Are their minds and hearts free to hear more about the Lord every time? Do they yearn to be close to Him, to follow Him, and for Him to address them?
He further drew the attention of the faithful to the fact that Christ, by His Resurrection, no longer lives with them in flesh, but lives above. Hence, they should look for and associate themselves with things that are above, where Christ awaits them to come and share in his glory.
“Let us pray that the joy that has been brought by the Risen Lord will remain with us, and will draw us ever closer to the Lord,” he enjoined.
The catechumens who had been baptized during the Easter Vigil Mass received their First Holy Communion from the Bishop’s hands during the Easter Day Mass.
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (DEPSOCOM, Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate)
