Editorial

Use Easter season as a time of personal encounter with the Lord

“Peace be with you” (Jn 20:19).

The first words that Jesus spoke to his disciples in his appearance to them after his resurrection sparked fear and trepidation. Yet he meant to calm their fears, confirm his identity and impart peace. It is an example of the risen Lord sharing his love and mercy.

We believe it was among the last things the disciples expected to hear from Jesus, whom they had abandoned a few days earlier in his hour of need.

We remember Peter’s denials and several other disciples who were nowhere to be found as Christ was nailed to a tree.

And yet, the first words that Jesus speaks to them after he rises from the dead demonstrate an unwavering love for those who, however imperfectly, had followed him and embraced the message of his ministry.

Like those first disciples, we are now in the midst of celebrating the Easter season, the most important of all liturgical times, in which we Catholics celebrate the Lord’s resurrection from the dead, culminating in his ascension to the Father and sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.

Our celebration of Easter does not end on Easter Sunday and is a season of personal encounter with the risen Lord.

It invites us to celebrate the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost, as the entire world is opened up by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Church is born in joyful hope and anticipation of the kingdom that is here now and yet to come.

Joy should be evident in our lives as we celebrate that Christ is indeed risen and has conquered sin and death!

As our former shepherd Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein shared with us in a “Seeking the Face of the Lord” column during Easter in 2007:

Easter is the feast of hope. For those who face death with fear, Jesus showed once and for all that in death, life is merely changed, not taken away. This life as we know it is only the vestibule to something more beautiful.

Yet it is true, we do not understand birth and death, we do not understand rebirth and resurrection. Like Peter, as he stooped to look into the empty tomb, we can only be amazed. So, Easter is a sacred feast of happy faith and firm hope. Easter is the pre-eminent feast of hope! For those who face death with fear, Jesus showed once and for all that in death, life is changed and not taken away.

Once more with peaceful hearts, we thank God for the gift of our Easter faith! Thank God for the gift of his own Son and for Christ’s Easter victory! We thank God for the gift of our Church, which carries forward the Easter mystery in the life of the sacraments and our community of faith even in the midst of suffering that will pass away.

We all are charged with the mission of spreading the good news. So, during this Easter season, why not listen carefully to the way the Lord is opening Scriptures to you? Look for him in other ways, too—in the breaking of the bread, in times of stress and anxiety, in every situation that you face each day? Where do you see Jesus? What is he sharing, and what is your response? It is an invitation to give of ourselves more freely in living out our vocations.

We must remember that Easter is the ultimate celebration of life and a timely gift. The message of this season has always been timely, but it can be treasured even more in our day.

Each of us is responsible for passing on the good news of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church that offer hope to our world. This is our Christian mission.

Let us pray: Please Lord, help us to open our eyes and to see by Easter faith the wonders of your creation and the triumph of love over death. Be with us on our mission as your disciples, sharing with world that Christ indeed has risen! Alleluia!

—Mike Krokos