Zadar, (IKA) – Easter, a holy day of family togetherness, prayer, socializing and spiritual food, is the topic of the Easter greetings from the Archbishop of Zadar, Želimir Puljić, which he sent to the faithful on March 31. As the President of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, in his greetings he encouraged participation in the National Encounter of Croatian Catholic Families to be held in Rijeka. This year’s Easter celebration will be interwoven with the immediate preparations for the Second Encounter of Croatian Catholic Families, with the theme The Family, the Bearer of the Life, Hope and Future of Croatia. “Therefore, in this Easter atmosphere, I am reaching out with my prayers and spirit to our families who are the bearers of life and are truly the hope and future of the Church and society. Together with them, I want to thank God the Father for the gift of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and families, in which love is incorporated in the foundations. We are particularly grateful to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for becoming a man, and thus express particular tribute to the holy realities of marriage and families,” said Msgr. Puljić, pointing out that through the teachings of Christ, who performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana, the Church has elevated the human institution of marriage to the level of a sacrament and describes it as a covenant that God has made with man. “The characteristics of a covenant are stability and fidelity. Since God created man as a free and responsible being and decreed that the family should be in the service of life, its stability and fidelity to the covenant follow. It is said that marriage is a stable covenant of fidelity in practice that is lived every day and at every moment,” said the archbishop. Achieving a marriage is a gift of the freedom, love and responsibility of the spouses, and God’s blessing, which has to be sought and prayed for. “Prayer is a privileged area in which the Sacrament of Matrimony is strengthened and achieved. Praying together, Mass and pilgrimages are excellent and privileged means for strengthening the covenant of marriage. May the Second Encounter of Croatian Catholic Families at the Marian shrine in Trsat inspire today’s families to be aware of the state of grace that the Lord has bestowed upon them in marriage. We are grateful to our fathers and mothers who, even during difficult periods of history, remained faithful to Christ, the Church and their national roots,” said Msgr. Puljić, noting that this was not easy in confrontation with numerous opponents of the Cross who seduced, frightened and persecuted them in order to crush their faith and erase their national and cultural characteristics. “Filled with faith in the Resurrected One and confident in the legacy of faith received as an inheritance, the faithful knew that pain and misery would disappear, and after each misfortune and storm the sun would come again. Easter night rejoices in the mystery of the Easter victory. Easter night shows that God cannot lose a battle. He never loses. Easter morning proclaims that God always has the final word. Easter is the victory of light over darkness, love over evil, truth over lies and spirit over matter,” said Archbishop Puljić, pointing out that Easter morning fills the faithful and families with consolation in Christ, who is the undimmed light in the history of human darkness, the center and crossroads of history, its meaning and redemption. “May the Second Encounter of Croatian Catholic Families in Trsat, in the atmosphere of the Easter season, help families to become aware of God’s great plan for people. May he make all followers of Christ zealous and available to help families in order for the Divine covenant entered in the Sacrament of Matrimony to create the fruits of life, stability and fidelity. With profound faith and awareness of how great this Divine Mystery is, I want every Sunday to be a little Easter, a day of family socializing and a source of the spiritual food that transformers our fleeting moments into the seeds of eternity. I wish you happy feast days, with an abundance of Easter graces and God’s blessing,” concluded Archbishop Puljić.