[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 13 (Monday, March 31, 1997)]
[Page 425]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message on the Observance of Easter, 1997

March 28, 1997

    Warm greetings to everyone celebrating Easter.
    For almost two millennia, Christians around the world have 
celebrated this sacred and joyous season as a time of promises 
fulfilled. It is the promise that a long, harsh winter will dissolve 
into the warmth and beauty of spring. It is the promise that hearts can 
be changed and lives renewed by God's love and forgiveness. It is the 
promise that the sufferings of Good Friday will be transformed into the 
glorious triumph of Easter morning.
    Now, as we swiftly approach the dawn of a new millennium, let us 
strive together to fulfill our own promise, both as individuals and as a 
nation. By strengthening our families and communities, bringing hope and 
help to those in need, and creating a climate of peace and 
reconciliation where hatred and violence and prejudice have no place, we 
can each play a vital role in carrying out God's loving plan for 
humanity. As Saint John's Gospel so eloquently reminds us, ``. . . God 
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world 
through him might be saved.''
    As you gather with family and friends to share the joys of this holy 
season, Hillary and I extend best wishes to all for a wonderful Easter.
                                                  Bill Clinton