Easter: The Resurrection of the Lord

As Catholic Christians approach Easter after the Lenten season, experiences may vary—some feel it arrives quickly, while others find Lent lengthy. Regardless, Easter is a welcome celebration. It is a time often marked by family gatherings and enriched by memories of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil, as well as the liturgical traditions of Holy Week. We all know that Easter is primarily the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. With a little imagination, we can return to the stories leading up to what we’ve heard and seen during Mass. These readings offer us plenty of material and situations for our Easter meditation.

I hope to offer you an additional focus for your meditation. Generally, during our meditation, we look at the empty tomb as an indication of the resurrection, and as assurance or proof that he has truly risen. While all of these reflections may be helpful for our meditation, let me suggest that what may also be beneficial is to remember that the empty tomb and the appearances were the consequences of the experience of Jesus resurrected that helped to formulate the appearance stories and the empty tomb. As adult Christians, we are called to believe.

But let us not be discouraged, Saint Peter Julian Eymard commented:

All life of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is a resurrected life. It is this resurrected life that you must lead, you, in your mortal body. It is the only one you should lead, because the mortal life of our Lord Jesus is past; his natural life is over; he has no other life than his risen life — the reign of the risen Jesus is an interior reign.

Let Us Pray:

Lord, with grateful hearts, we shout out our Alleluia today! Send your Spirit into our hearts that we may embrace our new life by bringing joy and hope to all those who have yet to experience your love and life. Amen.