4 April 2010: Easter Sunday

“He has risen, he is not here!” (Lk 24:6) Such was the angel’s greeting to the holy women who had come at early dawn to visit the place where Jesus was laid.

What joy must have overwhelmed their hearts at the words! What joy even now fills the hearts of the faithful when they hear them repeated in the Mass of this great day! He, Jesus, our King, over whose sorrowful Passion we have been so lately mourning, dies no more. Death has no more dominion over him.

Conqueror over death and all his enemies, he rejoices in his glorified humanity, and all power is given to him in heaven and on earth, even in hell itself. Therefore, let us rejoice with him and with his Church this day with the oft-repeated, ‘Alleluia, Alleluia!’

No one doubts that our Lord first appeared to his Blessed Mother; but how can we form an idea of the joy that filled her heart at the sight of this beloved Son, now as radiant and beautiful as he had been disfigured by his agony and crucifixion?

The sorrows and joys of a mother are the sorrows and joys of her children. Mary is our Mother. So, let our joy today be as deep as our previous sorrow; and in proportion to the childlike love we bear her. Let our joy go beyond this day and produce in us all its holy and blissful effects.

What great joy springs from the thought that the resurrection of our Lord is the type and pledge of our resurrection! This is no pious belief but an express article of faith “... knowing”, as St Paul says, “that he who raised up Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus, and those who have slept through Jesus will God bring with him”. This makes us cry out with the Apostle, “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?” (1 Cor 15:55)

Deeply impress this thought on our minds; we shall never suffer long from sadness. In all our tribulations of soul or body let us say, ‘I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting’. If we suffer, we will also reign with him.

Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp186-8

Our Lord’s Resurrection: The basis of our Faith

The glorious resurrection of the Lord is the key to interpreting his whole life, and the ground of our faith. Without this victory over death, all our preaching would be useless and our faith in vain. (cf 1 Cor 15:14-7)

Furthermore, the guarantee of our future resurrection is secured upon the resurrection of Christ, because although we were dead through sin, merciful God, his love moved by infinite compassion, gave us Christ ... and he raised us with him. (cf Eph 2:4-6)

Easter is the celebration of our Redemption; of thanksgiving and joy. The Resurrection of the Lord is a central reality of the Catholic faith, and has been preached as such since the beginning of Christianity. The importance of this miracle is so great that the Apostles are, above all else, witnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection.(cf Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15)

Each year on this holy day St Thomas Aquinas counselled his hearers not to fail to congratulate the Blessed Virgin on the Resurrection of her Son. (Fr JFP, “Life and Mercies of Our Lady, according to St Thomas Aquinas”) That is exactly what we do, beginning today, by reciting the ‘Regina Cœli’ in lieu of the ‘Angelus’ during Eastertide. “Queen of Heaven, Rejoice. Alleluia! ...”

Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:291-2, 298

“Regina Cœli”
V. Queen of Heaven, Rejoice! Alleluia.
R. “For He whom you did merit to bear. Alleluia.”
V. Has risen, as He said. Alleluia.
R. “Pray for us to God. Alleluia.”
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary. Alleluia.
R. “For the Lord is truly risen. Alleluia.”

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we beseech you, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Ref: “Handbook of Prayers”, Fr Charles Belmonte and Fr James Socias (Eds), 1982, p23

Renewal of Baptismal Promises

‘Immediately after the blessing of the water, all present stand and renew their baptismal profession of faith. The priest speaks to the people in these or similar words’:

Dear friends, through the paschal mystery, we have been buried with Christ in baptism, so that we may rise with him to a new life. Now that we have completed our lenten observance, let us renew the promises we made in baptism when we rejected Satan and his works, and promised to serve God faithfully in his holy Catholic Church. And so:

V. Do you reject Satan? 'R. I do.’
V. And all his works? ‘R. I do.’
V. And all his empty promises? ‘R. I do.’

‘or’

V. Do you reject sin, so as to live in the freedom of God’s children? ‘R. I do.’
V. Do you reject the glamor of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin? ‘R. I do.’’
V. Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness? 'R. I do.’

‘(According to circumstances, this second form may be adapted to local needs by the conference of bishops.)’

‘Then the priest continues.’

V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? ‘R. I do.’

V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? ‘R. I do.’

V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? ‘R. I do.’

‘The priest concludes:’

V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. ‘R. Amen.’

Ref: Fr James Socias, et al (Eds), “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, pp389-90

Mary, Mother of Vocations (2002 Calendar, Rogationist Fathers)

Our Lady of Grace, in Normandy. This image is very famous in the country, and people from all parts come to venerate it. — Archives of the Church. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)

'Notre Dame de Grace' / Our Lady of Grace. Normandy, France. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)