EASTER—THE JOY THAT LASTS

                The Easter Season begins with the Easter Vigil and the lighting of the Paschal Candle. The Easter Season will be celebrated for 50 days culminating with the celebration of Pentecost Sunday. All throughout the Easter Season the Paschal Candle will be lit as it is placed next to the ambo from where the Sacred Scriptures are proclaimed. The Paschal Candle reminds us that Christ is the light of the world.

                The symbols of the alpha and omega (the beginning and the end) and the numerals of the current year are attached to the candle. Five grains of incense are inserted into the Candle in the form of a cross symbolizing Christ crucified.

                The Easter Season celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus. We are reminded that we have been freed from death and sin, darkness and suffering. Therefore, we proclaim Alleluia! Jesus is  Risen.

                The scripture readings for much of the Easter Season come from the Acts of the Apostles telling us of the experiences that the disciples had in encountering the Risen Jesus. The disciples could not contain themselves and proclaimed the joy of the Resurrection everywhere they went. The Church as it celebrates once again the joy of the Resurrection is a community of missionary disciples in our world today giving witness to all that Jesus said and did just as the first disciples and early church had done.

                Easter is not a one day affair. It is a transformation that we carry forward into our lives. We now enter the weeks of Easter Time with joy.

                May your celebration of Easter this year be a blessing for you and your families. Happy Easter. Jesus is Risen Alleluia!