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Easter B

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Cycle B

B211: Why is the Church so packed on Easter Sunday?

Your observation is correct, because in our parish we have to "double up" at several of our masses - one is in the church, while another is going on simultaneously in the social hall to accommodate the overflowing crowds at nine masses. Why? It is because this is the most important day in the history of Christianity! We celebrate it because of four promises: a promise given, a promise fulfilled, a promise to come, and a promise renewed.

A promise given: Jesus told us that if "this Temple" (his Body) were destroyed, in three days he would raise it up (John 2:19,21). A promise fulfilled: on that first Sunday that we now call "Easter" Jesus was raised just as he said (Matt 28:6). A promise to come: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:25-26).

It is because we believe in this astounding, historical event that we gather as one united family to celebrate and worship! The Magisterium (official teaching office of the Church) wants to stress the importance of this monumental event, an event so important to Christianity that it is even made a mandatory holy day of obligation, an anniversary date that is unforgettable.

One cannot be a Christian without the gift of Faith, a gift that enables us to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the promised one, our Redeemer, our Savior, the Son of God, and the Second Person in the Blessed Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Our Faith also enables us to see the "promise renewed" every day on the altar, as we receive the Real Presence, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine - but Really Jesus! He himself tells us, as he instituted this precious Sacrament, "This is my body...this is my blood...Do this in memory of me." O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine!

Know Your Catechism! The Eucharist is a pledge of future glory to come (CCC #1402). His Presence is "veiled" in the Eucharist, but we understand its promise (CCC #1404-05). The Resurrection is a historical event (CCC #647) because of the reality of the empty tomb and subsequent encounters between Christ and his apostles. Its significance for those who believe is crucial (CCC #651-655). "Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again!" It is my Catholic duty to witness to this faith that I possess (CCC #2472), a supernatural virtue infused in me by God (CCC#153).

Let us rejoice and be glad

People have a gift for finding special ways to celebrate special events. Sometimes the Church welcomes these signs of joy into the liturgy itself. More often they are just given a nod of approval as religious folklore and folkways.

Easter is the principal feast of the Church year because it symbolizes Christ's victory over sin and over death. So folk customs at Easter usually are a sign of the end of the reign of death, symbolized by Lent; or the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New; or else they are a sign of life renewed, of beginning all over again.

For example, why do Catholics eat ham on Easter? Because the Old Testament forbade pork, and in Christ's New Testament the old food laws no longer hold. Why do Catholics (and other Christians) dress up in new clothes (and in the old days in new bonnets) and take part in the "Easter parade?" Because on Easter and at spring the whole cycle of our life recommences.

One of the most ancient and widespread symbols of Easter is the Easter egg. Like many symbols it has an unknown origin, but it seems to combine two signs: the end of Lent and the redeeming resurrection of Christ.

Why a sign of the end of Lent? Because in the old days of strict Lenten fast, Catholics were forbidden to eat not only flesh meat but the byproducts of animals (white meats), like milk and eggs. So to give someone an Easter egg was to give him a nice Easter present to eat. These gift-eggs were usually decorated, whether in Catholic England, in Italy, Germany, Greece, the Mid-east or Russia.

Why a sign of the Resurrection? Because in spring the newborn chick breaks out of its shell much as the resurrected Christ broke forth from the tomb. Thus the Russians used to carry decorated eggs with them on Easter day. When friends met one would say, "The Lord is risen," and the other would reply "It is so of a truth." Then they would kiss and exchange eggs. A truly Christian custom! This is the day the Lord has risen. Let us rejoice and be glad. (Ps. 118:24. Today's psalm response)

-Father Robert F. McNamara

Q367: Why did people even bother to go to the tombs to "anoint" bodies after death, in the history of Israel? Did it have special significance?

If I were to ask you what a "tomb" is, you would probably answer something close to this response: "A tomb is the final resting place for a dead body." In the light of today's Easter joy, however, I would like to suggest that you consider a new definition for tomb: "A tomb is the place of the resurrection!"

John's gospel (Jn 20:1-9) tells us that Mary Magdalene was at the tomb, and the other gospels tell us it was for the purpose of anointing the dead body of Jesus. It would appear that the original reason for "anointing" a dead body by Israelites is lost to history. However, the basic purpose of the act of anointing as it developed through the prophets was to enact a sacred ritual intended to make things holy, to set them apart for God or dedicate them to God. So we could conjecture that Mary Magdalene was there to give a final blessing (anointing) to the body, before `the end' - i.e., the time when the tomb was sealed forever and the body began to decompose.

But Mary Magdalene, and everyone else was wrong! The tomb is not the end! The tomb is the place of the resurrection, for each one of us! And Jesus was the first to rise from the tomb with a body that would no longer know death or pain. St. Augustine wrote, "It is easy to believe that Jesus died. What is greater is to believe that he has risen!" And that exclamation point at the end of that sentence also expresses our joy at what our faith tells us awaits us after we die: resurrection of the body at the end of time, as He promised!

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! He is Risen! The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection (CCC #653); and by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life (CCC #654). This is the principle and the source of our own future resurrection (CCC #655).


Page last modified on October 16, 2007, at 03:20 PM