Easter

From Lent into Easter

The two weeks of Passiontide begin on the Fifth Sunday of Easter. The first week is known as "Passion Week" and leads into Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion; the second is known as "Holy Week" and leads us to the glory of Easter.

The Easter Triduum begins with the evening mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, reaches its climax at the Easter Vigil and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. Saint Augustine called the Easter Vigil the "mother of all vigils." The Vigil begins after nightfall and ends before dawn on Easter Sunday. The Church keeps vigil awaiting the resurrection of Christ and celebrating the Easter sacraments (baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist). (Cf. General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar 18-26).

The Exultet, the Easter proclamation, is sung at the Easter Vigil and proclaims, "This is our Passover feast, when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain..." Thus the Greek word for Easter is Pascha (from the Hebrew word for Passover).

The Importance of Easter

The Kingdom of God that Jesus announced has significantly deepened, transforming even death itself. Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus is not a return to this life. Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus, had to die once more. But Jesus moves beyond this life taking our humanity into the life of the Trinity itself. Jesus will never die again. We are invited on the same journey. "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." (Mark 8:34).

The Resurrection of Jesus is shrouded in mystery. No one was an eye-witness to the moment of the resurrection. But the resurrection is real and true (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 638-639). As St. Paul reminds us,

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me." (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

We continue to proclaim this truth each Sunday by our profession of faith: "On the third day, he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures" (Nicene Creed).

Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord, is the culmination of the life and death of Jesus. Therefore, Easter is the first of all the Christian feast days. Not just a one-day celebration, the fifty days of Easter from Easter Sunday to Pentecost is celebrated as one joyful feast (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1169). Easter was the original feast of the early Church; it was the first feast to be observed annually by early Christians.

The Word "Easter"

Easter was first known as "pasch" meaning Passover. Its root is still used in the French (Paques), Latin (Pascha) and Spanish (Pascua) words for Easter. The English word "Easter" shares roots with:

• the Middle High German word for resurrection Urstand.
• the word "east" and the rising of our sun, Jesus.
• the term "in albis" for the white baptismal garments worn at Church which sounded like the plural of alba (dawn), again, our rising dawn, Jesus.
• the old Anglo-Saxon month called Eosturmonath (April) in which Easter is frequently celebrated.

The Council of Nicea (325 AD) fixed Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox (the first day of spring). It is based on the lunar, not the solar calendar, which is why its date changes every year (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1170). Easter never occurs before March 22nd or after April 25th.

• The first eight days of the Easter season are known as the Octave of Easter.
• Ascension Thursday occurs 40 days after Easter.
• Pentecost is the 50th day after Easter and ends the Easter celebration.
• Each Sunday is a "little Easter." From biblical times, Sunday has been known as "the Lord's Day" (see Revelation 1:10) because Christ rose from the grave on a Sunday morning; its name in languages such as Spanish ("Domingo") still reflect that designation (See Catechism of the Catholic Church 1166).

The Easter Feast

Easter is at the pinnacle of the Church's celebrations and so important that we have 50 days to unpack its meaning. In fact, the season is a special time for the neophytes (those newly baptized) to reflect upon the Paschal graces they have received. This period is referred to as "mystagogy". Those already baptized join the neophytes in this reflection. Saint Paul encourages us to such reflection: "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10).

Easter can be called the Eighth Day. The seven days belong to the first creation. In the Resurrection, something new has happened; an event of cosmic proportions. "But for us, a new day has dawned: the day of Christ's Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater work of redemption. The first creation finds its meaning and its summit in the new creation in Christ, the splendor of which surpasses that of the first creation" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 349).

Easter Fast Facts

• The entire life of Christ from the Annunciation to the Resurrection redeems us. Christ's death and resurrection are the climaxes of God's redemptive work in Christ. "Christ's whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the blood of his cross, but this mystery is at work throughout Christ's entire life:
  • in his Incarnation through which by becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty;
  • in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our disobedience; - in his word which purifies its hearers;
  • in his healings and exorcisms by which "he took our infirmities and bore our diseases;"
  • and in his Resurrection by which he justifies us" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 517).

• The Paschal Mystery refers to the passion, crucifixion, death, burial, descent into hell, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus (Catechism of the Catholic Church 512).

• Our Baptism grafts us into the Paschal Mystery:

"The Christian must enter into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit so as to become the Father's beloved son in the Son and 'walk in newness of life': Let us be buried with Christ by Baptism to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us rise with him to be glorified with him" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 537).

• The Octave of Easter is the first eight days of the Easter season, from Easter Sunday to the First Sunday of Easter. In the early Church, it was celebrated by daily mass attendance and abstinence from work, so that the faithful could hear the sermons of the local bishop.

• The 40th day after Easter is called the Ascension, the celebration of Christ's return to the Father.

• The 50th day after Easter is called Pentecost, which celebrates when the same Holy Spirit who descended upon Christ at this baptism, descends upon the apostles.

• The Easter Duty is the responsibility of the faithful to receive the Eucharist at least once a year, during the Easter season, with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, if necessary (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1389).

"One cannot believe in Jesus Christ without sharing in his Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals to men who Jesus is. For "no one can say "Jesus is Lord", except by the Holy Spirit", who "searches everything, even the depths of God. No one comprehends the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God." Only God knows God completely: we believe in the Holy Spirit because he is God." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 152)

Resources on the Holy Spirit:

• The Sequence to the Holy Spirit: the liturgical hymn that follows the second reading at the Mass of Pentecost.
• Teaching on the Holy Spirit from the Catechism of the Catholic Church 683ff.
• Fruits of the Holy Spirit: the supernatural qualities of peace and joy which accompany the works of the Spirit. They come from Galatians 5: 22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such, there is no law." These are contrasted with the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21.
• Gifts of the Holy Spirit: the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to human beings for the good of others and the self. They are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These are drawn from Isaiah 11:1-2.
• Novena to the Holy Spirit: the original novena is the time that the apostles, Mary, and other disciples spent in prayer from the time of the Ascension of the Lord to Pentecost.
• Mary and the Holy Spirit: a list of Church documents that speak about the connection between the Blessed Mother and the Holy Spirit.

Resources

• All About Holy Saturday: history, information, prayers, images, and traditions of Holy Saturday.
• 10 Ways to Help Children Appreciate the Triduum