Easter People

A couple of friends posted recently to Facebook, “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.” I loved seeing the outpouring of family photos from Easter. Everyone all dressed up and families witnessing their lives oriented toward Jesus. Families together worshiping and praying. Families together celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. 

My family attended Easter Vigil mass. I was reminded of the stimulation of the senses during Mass. Starting in darkness, seeing nothing, but yet focusing on what the world must have been like before God gave form to His creation by separating light from darkness. I was drawn to the darkness and coldness of the tomb. The new Paschal candle was lit from the Holy Fire, just as it is every Easter Vigil. There was an eruption of light, symbolizing the light of Christ entering the world and celebrating Jesus being raised from the dead. Incense, the rising smoke lifting our prayers to heaven, uniting our earthly existence with the angels and saints in heaven. The cleansing waters of Baptism were poured and holy oils anointed the foreheads of people eager to live out their faith more fully. Alleluia!

This week has included additional stimulation of the senses, as I attended a friend’s funeral. In a church filled with people and wonderfully decorated for Easter, with an angelic choir singing God’s praises above us in the choir loft, it was a place of beauty. Beautiful isn’t always a word you think of when you refer to funerals, but in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus just days before, I felt a consolation to the tears that ran down my face. Making sense of human death requires making sense of Jesus’ death on the Cross. Suffering and death can be unbearable. But in the light of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, the processing of our own suffering becomes more clear. We truly are an Easter people.

As an Easter people, we look forward to what is to come - both in this world and the next. This Sunday we celebrate Divine Mercy. What a fitting celebration to have within the Easter season! We are reminded that God's mercy is consolation for all of us. John Paul II said that mercy is "love's second name.” Pope Francis reminds us, “The Lord never tires of giving His love to us, it is we who tire of asking for His love.” 

Happy Easter and Happy Divine Mercy Sunday to you, my Easter people!

Listen: Easter People

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