Today we should relish the joy of Easter. We should thank God for letting us share in the victory. We shout thank God for giving us this hope. But let’s not stop there. Let’s not just enjoy Easter. Let’s not just eat chocolate eggs, and cakes. Let’s let Easter change our lives.
Christ’s Resurrection is not just a nice idea: it is the power of eternal life at work in us. Surely we ought to do something for the weeks of the Easter season to plug into that power. Many of us have made an effort to live Lent in a special way. Many of us will have given something up for Lent. OK so, this year we have had to give up our physical church buildings for Lent. Giving something up is a practical way to give the special graces God sends during Lent some room to work in our souls. If we gave something up to live during the penitential season of Lent, then surely we ought to take something up as a way to help us live the joyful season of Easter.
In the Gradual today, the Psalmist encourages us to remember that “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Why do we not make an Easter resolution to help us do just that, to help us rejoice and to keep in mind the eternal life in Christ that is waiting for us if we remain faithful to him.
It does not have to be complicated, it can be very simple. It could be watching a classic film together with your family each Sunday between now and Pentecost especially if it is a joyful, uplifting film. It could be having a special get-together with friends on Fridays, albeit one that will almost certainly be online due to the restrictions on our movements. Please do not have an actual gathering in your home or elsewhere. It could be taking some time to re-read some of your favourite books.
If we ask the Holy Spirit to give us some ideas, he won’t be stingy. He just needs us to decide to let Easter make a difference in our lives, the way it ought.
Our souls need that as much as they needed the time of penance and contrition that we lived in Lent. The Church is a wise mother giving us six weeks of Lent but eight weeks of Easter.
Today, as we receive the risen Lord in the Eucharist spiritually or physically, let us promise him that we will find a way to benefit from that wisdom.
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Deus, qui hodiérna die per Unigénitum tuum, æternitátis nobis ádiutum devicta morte resrásti: vota nostra, quæ præveniéndo aspíras, étiam adjuvándo proséquere. Per eúmdem Dóminum. Amen.
Decree of Canonical Erection of a Parish in order to provide Pastoral Care for the faithful within the City of Dublin