“This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps 118:24) 

The genius of our Catholic practice is found especially in our liturgical and sacramental celebrations. They keep before us, week by week, and especially, Sunday by Sunday, the profound reality of God reaching down to us in love and mercy, with comfort and hope and calling for a heartfelt response from us. And, Easter Sunday, the Feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, is the zenith or mountain top. It celebrates Jesus’ conquering humans’ greatest enigma—death. He, the Immortal One, had taken on mortality when He became man. He reclaimed His immortality and ours when He crashed the gates of death and rose gloriously from the tomb that first Easter Sunday. And we celebrate every Sunday as a “little Easter.”

This totally unprecedented event was so powerful that the Lord’s Day of the Ancient Sabbath was transferred from Saturday to Sunday. We honor and worship the Creator on Sunday because of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead on Sunday. St. Paul would defend the reality of the Resurrection against the skeptics of his day by saying, “If Christ be not raised from the dead, your faith is in vain and you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor 15:17) 

May the celebration of Easter 2011 renew your faith in the Risen Lord. “This is the (very special) day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Ps 118:24) 

Happy Easter to all! 

Msgr. John O’Byrne, Pastor; the priests and staff of Saint Catherine Laboure Church

A 2011 Lent and Easter Schedule can be found Here