Alleluia! Christ is risen!

We are currently in the Easter Season, which lasts from the evening of Easter Sunday through Pentecost Sunday. It lasts fifty days. This is significant because it is longer than Lent and outside of Ordinary Time, the longest season in the Liturgical Year. Why do we celebrate Easter for so long? It comes from Scripture. The Risen Lord lived among His Apostles for forty days after His resurrection. At the time of His ascension, He instructed the Apostles to remain in Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-5). From Ascension Thursday until Pentecost Sunday (the first Novena, by the way), the Apostles, other disciples, and the Blessed Mother stayed together, prayed together, and waited. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came in a physical manifestation of wind, noise, and fire (Acts 2:1-4). It was only after receiving the Spirit at Pentecost that the Apostles went out to teach and preach and evangelize. Our Easter Season should be spent studying the Word of God, so that we can go forth and proclaim the Gospel.

Each Sunday we remember the first Easter and at times we call every Sunday a “mini Easter” because of this. Every Mass commemorates the Paschal Mystery…the Eucharist. We are told at the end of Mass to “Go forth, proclaiming the Gospel by your life”( Roman Missal). Easter is the promise of the Resurrection for each of us at the end of time. The sacraments are how we prepare ourselves for that possibility. In Baptism we are joined to the family of God, through adoption, we receive eternal life. In Confirmation, we receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit, just as the Apostles did at Pentecost, and are called to proclaim Jesus to the world. In receiving the Eucharist, we are nourished and given the strength to fulfill that calling. Allowing the Lord Jesus Christ to enter into us and transform us for His work. At the Easter Vigil we celebrate all three of these sacraments with those who choose to become members of the Catholic Church. This is not a coincidence. The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, uses the special time of Easter to remind all of her family members what their Baptismal promises are and mean in living as Christians in this world. Every Sunday, we profess this faith boldly and communally, to enjoin our hearts to God’s will. We gain grace and strength from the sacrament and also from our faith community. This is what we mean when we say that we are an Easter people. We are alive in Christ through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. He calls us to live for Him, so that we may live with Him for all eternity. This is the promise He offers. It is up to us to accept it and live in Him.

Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!