A view of Earth, partially hidden by the moon, is photographed through the Orion spacecraft window on April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew's flyby of the moon. (OSV News/NASA handout via Reuters)
by Eilis McCulloh
Contributor
Just a few days after Easter, a friend shared Wendell Berry's poem "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" on social media. This poem had long been my favorite, but I hadn't read it in quite some time. Watching the reel of the poem, I was struck by the very last line, which reads: "Practice resurrection."
Practice resurrection? How is this even possible when my country is attacking Iran or when we are on the brink of war with any other country? When Immigration and Customs Enforcement still terrorizes our neighbors? And when friends and family members have recently gone home to God?
As I pondered the poem, I was also overcome with awe and wonder at the messages coming from Artemis II. In his beautiful Easter message from the moon, Astronaut Victor Glover said:
In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. ... I think as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world — whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not — this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing. And that we got to get through this together.
Maybe the hope and utter amazement that Glover and his fellow Artemis II astronauts shared with us is what we needed this Easter season, when so much of the world feels bleak. They were able to remind us that we all rise and fall together, that we belong to each other. In the midst of so much bad, they reminded us that we must band together to reach new heights and that we must stick together if we want to discover a new way of seeing the world.
I often think of resurrections as a rising from the ashes or new life being formed. It's easy to see that with new craters named on the moon or the explosion of color during the spring when trees and flowers are blooming. It's easy to feel that on Easter Sunday or at the Easter vigil when we ring bells and sing alleluia. It's easy to see and experience these signs of new life.
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So, how do we go forward from the high of Easter Sunday to where we are right now? I believe the answer lies in courageously speaking (and living) the mission of the Gospel. While praying last week, I was struck by this line from Acts: "As they prayed, the place where they gathered shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31).
What if practicing resurrection requires us to speak boldly? To counter the bad news with hope, courage, and truth? I believe that Pope Leo XIV has recently shown us that this is how we are to practice resurrection. After being criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump, he replied:
I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems. Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent people have been killed, and I think someone has to stand up and say that there is a better way. ...
I have no fear of neither the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel. And that's what I believe I am called to do and what the church is called to do. We're not politicians. We're not looking to make foreign policy, as he calls it, with the same perspective that he might understand it. But I do believe that the message of the Gospel, 'Blessed are the peacemakers,' is a message that the world needs to hear today.
Isn't that what we are all called to do? To boldly preach and live the Gospel with our lives. If we are to practice resurrection daily, we have to speak out boldly, and we have to unerringly preach and live the Gospel, even when we are afraid.
That is the only way that we can see our way out of war. That is the way we can achieve peace. That is the way that we can come together to create a world where all can abundantly live the Easter hope of new life.
