Weekly Reflection 04/25/2021

REFLECTION FOR 4-25-21

“Christ is risen!”

“He is risen indeed!”

This is the message of Easter; and it is not just for one day of the year.

We have a God who loves us so much that he sacrificed his only Son to ransom us from the penalty of sin.  We have a Savior whose mercy is so all-encompassing that he willingly suffered and died in our place.  And this loving, merciful God is so powerful that even death could not hold him.  After three days in the tomb, Jesus walked out and lived among us once more.  He proved his power over sin by demonstrating his power over death.  It is unthinkable, it is unimaginable; but it is true!  And it is the basis of our faith.  We are an Easter people!

Therefore, the Church sets aside an entire season for the celebration of Easter.  This season begins with the Easter Vigil at sundown on Holy Saturday and lasts for fifty days until the feast of Pentecost.  During this Easter Season, the first reading at Mass every Sunday is from the Acts of the Apostles, instead of the Old Testament, so that we can hear and learn about the ways in which the Resurrection impacted the apostles and the early Church.  The gospels all relate stories of encounters with Jesus after he rose from the dead.  The “Alleluia,” which is absent from the liturgy during Lent, returns with gusto as we “Praise God” for his glorious power and might in raising Jesus from the dead.

For fifty days, Christians go all out to celebrate the victory of Christ over sin and death.  But even after Pentecost, Easter still goes on.  Every Sunday is considered a “little Easter” by the Church.  Sunday is always a day for celebrating and rejoicing in the Lord – a day to recall that:

“Christ is risen!”

“He is risen indeed!”