The Healing Journey

April 5, 2026

Our Easter Gift

By Paul Tupper

Easter Sunday is a celebration of one of the most remarkable events in all human history and, fittingly, the most glorious feast in the Church year.

Two thousand years ago, Christ died for us. He didn’t just give His life to save those who had gone before Him or for His contemporaries. He suffered, died and rose for each of us also, so that, at the end of our lives, we can go to Heaven and be with Him.

This message became very personal for me on Easter Sunday a few years ago. It was my first Easter without Jean, my late wife. She had passed away six months earlier after battling cancer. Jean and I always attended Mass together, and the Easter mass was always special for her. This particular Easter Sunday occurred in the early stages of the Covid pandemic, so the churches were closed. I watched the Mass on television.

During the celebration, I had an epiphany that absolutely overwhelmed me. I suddenly realized that because Jesus died and rose, Jean was in Heaven! This was a direct “cause and effect” event – Jesus’ death and Resurrection led to Jean’s resurrection in Heaven. On the night she died, I believed that Jean went to Heaven. But, on that Easter Sunday, I became absolutely sure in my heart that Jean is in Heaven. There was simply no doubt in my mind. This realization was astonishing. It was a good thing that I was sitting in my living room and not in the church because I became extremely emotional, probably the most emotional I’ve ever been. I cried tears of joy and screamed and started to pump my fists in the air as if my sports team had just won the championship.

And, in fact, that’s a good analogy. Because Jesus willingly gave up His life, He won the contest, and the prize for Jean and all of us who believe is Heaven. Jesus died and rose – for Jean and for all of us. That must be why people in Heaven are so happy: They know that they are there because of what Jesus did. On that Easter Sunday, the Resurrection became very personal for me because it had a direct effect on my wife. Hopefully, some day it will for me also.

The Resurrection is personal. Yes, Jesus died and rose for our ancestors, for our relatives, for Jean. But He also died and rose for us living today — to free us from sin and open the gates of Heaven. After His Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus returned to us through the Holy Spirit and dwells within each of us today, so He can lead us to the gates He opened, just as He led Jean. That’s our Easter gift. It’s no wonder we are so joyful on this day.

(Paul E. Tupper of Milford is author of “Perfect Moments With God,” which is available on Amazon. He grew up in Greenwich. His father Paul was a deacon in the Diocese of Bridgeport, and his mother Aurora was the Director of Religious Education in their parish. Most of his career was with a major public accounting firm in New York City. In response to a call from God, he began writing spiritual reflections.)

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