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April 2007 Issue
The season of Easter
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Imagine how
exhilarating it would feel if everyone in the diocese
would take seven weeks off and joyfully celebrate your
birthday, before it ever happened!
The church gives us the season of Easter
to celebrate the gift of our redemption from a loving
God. The return of the alleluia to Sunday liturgy signals
a glorious season of solemnity, grace and joy. |
We have painted eggs, eaten festive meals
and our farms have welcomed the birth of new animals. As we
adorn the church interior with lush displays of spring flowers
and plants, we reflect the earthly glory of the Resurrection
to everyone in the parish community.
The welcoming sights and scents of the inside
environment remind us to refresh and renew our Sunday Eucharist
with wholehearted responses and lavish solemnity. Each Sunday
of Easter is a repeat celebration of the Great Feast itself.
The liturgical calendar offers us seven weeks to bask in the
spiritual joy of Easter, restored and renewed in Christ. Listen
carefully to the rich fare that the Scripture stories offer
us, supported by strong, clear symbols like Jesus as the comforter
(second Sunday, with Thomas), the lamb (third Sunday), Jesus
as a Good Shepherd (fourth Sunday).
Think of the cross as the Tree of Life, and
plant a Mary Garden as the Michigan weather begins to mirror
the "spring of our love" - Jesus who is risen. The Sundays
of Easter "frame" weeks of beauty and spiritual peace that
the Great Vigil has initiated once again. Celebrate the season
of Easter with the newly initiated members and coax new meaning
from their stories into your own life. Bask in the glow of
a generous God who sent Jesus to free us from the shackles
of sin.
The great Feast of Pentecost arrives all too
soon, it seems, to conclude the season of Easter (May 27).
Remind yourself, though, that each Sunday is truly a "little
Easter." As we anticipate the so-called "birthday of the church,"
we gather the strength, the passion, and the joy of the Easter
season that sustains us for the mission that we are called
to, as Catholic Christians. Speaking of birthdays, remember
to say a prayer for Pope Benedict XVI on April 16.
Dr. Patricia J.
Hughes is director of the Pastoral Services Division of the
Diocese of Grand Rapids.
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