This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad! It has been a privilege to journey with you throughout the season of Lent, and I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Easter; not only Easter Sunday, but Easter Season! It is the tradition of the Church to see Easter, not as just one day, but as a whole season of time, just as much as Lent is a season. In fact, Easter is a longer season, lasting 50 days.

The Easter season begins with the celebration of the Easter Vigil on the night of Holy Saturday. Then, over the next 50 days we celebrate Easter as one long feast day, or as St. Athanasius said, “one great Sunday.” It is a time of rejoicing and feasting. In fact, St. Augustine reminds us: “The fifty days of Easter exclude fasts, since it is an anticipation of the banquet that awaits us on high.”

The first week of the Easter season is called the Octave of Easter, which runs from Easter Sunday through the Second Sunday of Easter. This Octave is considered the “early hours” of this “great Sunday,” with accounts read at Mass of the Lord who rose early in the morning, and the early preaching of the disciples. Each day during this Octave is treated as a solemnity, which means that, among other things, we say the Gloria at Mass and conclude the Mass with the “double alleluia.”

Throughout the season white vestments are worn, and the paschal candle is lit and remains in the sanctuary, symbolizing the presence of the risen Christ. The first readings at Mass are from the Acts of the Apostles, and describe how the first Christians react to Christ’s resurrection and begin spreading the good news. Also, the Salve Regina is traditionally said in place of the Angelus during the day.

As the Easter season draws to a close, we celebrate two major solemnities: Ascension and Pentecost. During the days between these two celebrations, we commemorate the time when the apostles were with Mary in the upper room after Jesus ascension, awaiting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Traditionally (before Ascension was moved from Thursday), these nine days of prayer were the origin of the “novena” prayers.

Spring Festival May 3 - 4, 2008