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Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord:
Easter Sunday today concludes the celebration of the
Triduum and begins the great fifty days of the Easter season. After 40
days of fast we have 50 days of feast.
The first reading for the Mass of the Day on Easter
Sunday comes from the Acts of the Apostles, as it will every Sunday for
the entire season. Today we hear a catechetical sermon that Peter
delivered in the house of Cornelius. Peter spells out the core of
Christian belief and the message of the resurrection is proclaimed loud
and clear. Peter says that the prophets testified that Jesus would rise
from the dead and it is now the task of all believers to testify to the
risen Christ through their preaching. The psalm for today is a seasonal
acclamation of joy proclaiming this day as the day the Lord has made.
Through the use of the present tense, ‘This is the day the
Lord has made’, the psalm moves the celebration of Easter beyond a
mere historical remembrance to one of present participation. There are
two choices for the second reading today. The passage from Colossians
speaks of how Jesus’ resurrection has implications for the behavior of
believers. In the alternative reading from Paul’s first letter to the
Corinthians we hear a comparison between the celebrations of the
resurrection and of Passover. The Gospel reading today is John’s account
of the resurrection.
Easter Sunday is one of only two celebrations during the
year when there is an obligatory sequence (Pentecost is the other). A
‘sequence’ (from the Latin sequor,
‘to follow’) is a long hymn text that appears after the second reading
and before the Gospel acclamation. Originally these musical components
extended the Alleluia and served to embellish and prolong the Gospel
procession on high feast days. It is a challenge to liturgy planners to
ensure that the sequence is a joyful expression rather that a long
‘dead’ time. One way of doing this is to sing or recite the sequence
during the Gospel procession as the book is carried through the assembly
in solemn fashion accompanied by candles and incense, culminating in the
acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia! Christ has
become our paschal sacrifice; let us feast with joy in the Lord.
Alleluia!”
At Mass today, as at the Easter Vigil last night, the
recitation of the Creed is replaced by the renewal of baptismal
promises. This gives everybody the opportunity to state their belief in
the form of responses to questions about their faith in the same way
that it is done in the celebration of baptism. This profession of faith
is followed by the sprinkling of all present with holy water. The water
is drawn from the baptismal font which was blessed at the Vigil.
Because Easter is, according to the liturgy documents, ‘the
culmination of the entire liturgical year’, the celebration
concludes with a solemn three-part blessing over the people. The
priest’s words of dismissal and the people’s response today, and every
day throughout the Easter octave, has the words
‘Alleluia, alleluia’ added.
With these words we are sent forth as Easter people to bring joy,
freedom and hope to the world.
Happy Easter! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Congratulations to our newest Catholics:
the Odiase Family: Friday, Philomena, Tai, Ken and
Lucky; Brittany Corbin, Kayla Corbin, Teresa Holley and Nicole Curtis.
May the Risen Christ bless all of you and help you to
proclaim Him to all!
Let’s give our minds and hearts to the Lord!
Father Joe |
