Dear Parishioners:
Alleluia! Christ is truly Risen! Lent is over, and it is now time to celebrate the great joy of Easter! At the Easter Vigil, the Exsultet is sung as Mass begins in darkness, illumined only by candles scattered throughout the church.
The Exsultet is a beautiful hymn of rejoicing in Christ’s triumph over sin and death. One part states: “O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer!”
This line stands out because it calls the sin of Adam “necessary” and refers to it as “O happy fault.” At first, this may seem strange. Why is it that we refer to the sin of Adam, Original Sin, as “necessary” and “happy”? The answer is Easter. It’s because God, in His perfect wisdom and love, took sin and the consequence of sin (death) and used them as the means of the salvation of the world. That’s what Easter is all about!
Without Adam’s sin, there would be no Jesus. God would not have had to become one of us. So even though the original sin of Adam, as well as all future sin, is evil and wrong, God in His perfect power and love chose to use it as the very means of the salvation of the world.
How? By allowing the sins of the world to persecute Him and crucify Him, and then, by turning that suffering and death into the very means of salvation. Jesus destroyed sin by destroying its consequences, namely, death. Death loses in the Resurrection! Jesus’ Resurrection takes away the effects of all sin for those who cling to Him.
Peter and John Running to the Tomb by Eugène Burnand (1850 – 1921)
Easter is a time when we must do just that. We must “cling” to our resurrected Lord! We must cling to Jesus, who is alive and well. We must cling to His Resurrection and strive to share in it. How do we cling to our Resurrected Lord?
There are many ways. First, by taking joy in everything. Even with whatever burdens us the most in life. Whatever it is that makes us impatient, angry, sad, or depressed. Whatever that is, it can become one of our greatest sources of grace and joy. If the brutal Crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God, can turn out to be the greatest event in all of human history, then our personal suffering, our burden, or even our sin can very much become a source of great joy. Only if we let God transform it into part of His Resurrection! This is truly the meaning of Easter!
Easter means that nothing can keep us from the joy that God wants to give us. Nothing can steal that joy away from us. At times, we struggle just as Jesus did in the Agony of the Garden and the Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Cross), but those sufferings will not win. The Resurrection won with Christ, and it will win with us when we cling to Him. Jesus persevered and, in the end, rose victorious. This is Easter!
Know that God wants us to experience the joy of Easter in our lives. Let Him fill us with hope and with the joy that only the Resurrection can bring. God wants Easter to begin now in our lives! Easter explains our destiny and gives our lives purpose and meaning, even amid the struggles we face. Easter tells us that love wins, not by avoiding suffering, but by going through it and coming out the other side radiant with glory. It reminds us that no matter how dark the world gets, the stone will be rolled away.
Christ's Appearance to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection by Alexander Ivanov (1806–1858),
Our celebration of Easter affirms that Christ is indeed who He said He was: the Savior of the world, the God made man who suffered, died, and rose for us. This is something we certainly need to celebrate this year as Easter comes anew to us! We rejoice this Easter for many thousands of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who will be baptized and received into the Church. We rejoice especially with the 17 men and women who are to be fully initiated into the Catholic Faith at the Easter Vigil here at OLM.
Saint John Chrysostom said, "Easter is not just a day to celebrate, but it is a season to live with renewed faith and hope." Fr. Brodeur and I wish you a Happy and Holy Easter Season. May the glory and the promise of Easter bring peace, joy, and happiness to you and those you hold most dear. May your faith and hope be renewed. And may the Risen Christ be always by your side to bless you most abundantly and be your loving guide. Happy Easter!