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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
Apr
20
Easter is the most joyous day of the Christian calendar, the day that celebrates the most wonderful event in the history of mankind. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. In 2025, we celebrate Easter on April 20. (continued below)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 638) says,
The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community; handed on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross:
Christ is risen from the dead!
Dying, he conquered death;
To the dead, he has given life.
In Romans 6:5-11, we read,
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a Resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Fr. Joseph Mary Wolfe, MFVA, has stated,
It is challenging to consider the pivotal event of Easter, Christ’s Resurrection, from our human perspective.
Scientists have theorized that Christ rose in a burst of radiation that created the three dimensional image on the Shroud of Turin, which many believe to be Jesus’ burial cloth. Scripture tells us that those closest to Jesus didn’t immediately recognize Him in His glorified body. Jesus ate fish in front of the disciples to prove His physicality, even as He was able to enter the Upper Room by going through locked doors. His glorified body had new abilities, but He was not a disembodied ghost as some of the disciples feared.
For all the value of scientific inquiry and speculation, the meaning of Easter is far more real and personal than theoretical. Scripture is clear – Christ rose and since Christ rose, we too have the opportunity for eternal life. It is as simple, and as complex, as that.
The Resurrection of the Lord is in all four Gospel accounts, and it is also discussed in the Epistles.
The Gospel of St. Luke 24:1-12 says,
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles; but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home wondering at what had happened.
We also see accounts of the Resurrection in Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-13, and John 20:1-29.
The official language of the Church is Latin, the ancient language of Rome. In Church texts Easter is Pascha, derived from the Hebrew Pasch or Passover. The Passover of the Lord is the saving event completed when Christ rose from the dead. In the languages derived from Latin this naming is followed, e.g. Pascua in Spanish.
English, however, while it has many words from Latin is derived from Germanic roots, as is modern German. What is Ostern in German is Easter in English. Although the origins are obscure, it may be a reference to the daily resurrection of the Sun in the Ost or East, upon which our natural existence depends. Christ, Himself, is often thus called the Orient, since upon Him our resurrection from sin to grace depends, as well as our bodily resurrection at the end of history.
This is the “eight-day” period from Easter Sunday through Divine Mercy Sunday. Each day in the octave is considered a solemnity, as if Easter is repeated for eight days.
No, it is not pagan in any way. Some people will argue that “Easter” is named after the goddess Ishtar or another pagan goddess. Easter, as used, in English-speaking Christian countries has always directly referred to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, and no other person or event.
Few events in history are as well documented as the Resurrection. We take for granted ancient events with one ancient reference, whereas all the writers of the New Testament attest to Christ’s death and resurrection. Most of them, and many others who witnessed His appearances before the Ascension, gave their lives as evidence of its truth. Since the first century many millions more who believed their testimony have followed their example.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 639) says,
The mystery of Christ’s Resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about A.D. 56 St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. . .” The Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the Resurrection which he had learned after his conversion at the gates of Damascus.
After His Resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, the “other Mary,” the apostles (except for Judas Iscariot), and the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. In 1 Corinthians 15:6, St. Paul says, “Then [Jesus] appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” St. Paul continues saying, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (1 Corinthians 15:8). This indicated St. Paul’s encounter with the Lord (after the Ascension of Jesus), which prompted St. Paul’s immediate conversion to Christianity (see Acts 9:1-19).
We think that this Mary was the mother of James and Joseph.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 640) teaches,
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb. In itself it is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ’s body from the tomb could be explained otherwise. Nonetheless the empty tomb was still an essential sign for all. Its discovery by the disciples was the first step toward recognizing the very fact of the Resurrection. This was the case, first with the holy women, and then with Peter. The disciple “whom Jesus loved” affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and discovered “the linen cloths lying there”, “he saw and believed”. This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb’s condition that the absence of Jesus’ body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraphs 651-655) says,
“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ’s works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by his Resurrection has given the definitive proof of his divine authority, which he had promised.
Christ’s Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures” indicates that Christ’s Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.
The truth of Jesus’ divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he.” The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly “I AM”, the Son of God and God himself. So St. Paul could declare to the Jews: “What God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’” Christ’s Resurrection is closely linked to the Incarnation of God’s Son, and is its fulfillment in accordance with God’s eternal plan.
The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God’s grace, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace. It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ’s brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: “Go and tell my brethren.” We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.
Finally, Christ’s Resurrection – and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future Resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment. In Christ, Christians “have tasted. . . the powers of the age to come” and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may “live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”
The Gospel accounts do not tell us that Jesus appeared to the Blessed Virgin. However, St. John Paul II gave a very thoughtful address regarding this question. He said,
READ MOREThe Gospels mention various appearances of the risen Christ, but not a meeting between Jesus and his Mother. This silence must not lead to the conclusion that after the Resurrection Christ did not appear to Mary; rather it invites us to seek the reasons why the Evangelists made such a choice.
On the supposition of an “omission”, this silence could be attributed to the fact that what is necessary for our saving knowledge was entrusted to the word of those “chosen by God as witnesses” (Acts 10:41), that is, the Apostles, who gave their testimony of the Lord Jesus’ Resurrection “with great power” (cf. Acts 4:33). Before appearing to them, the Risen One had appeared to several faithful women because of their ecclesial function: “Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Mt 28:10).
If the authors of the New Testament do not speak of the Mother’s encounter with her risen Son, this can perhaps be attributed to the fact that such a witness would have been considered too biased by those who denied the Lord’s Resurrection, and therefore not worthy of belief.
Luke 24:13-35 tells us the story of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus:
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Practically it may be that not understanding, or simply doubting, His promise to rise from the dead, they were not expecting to see Him, and in His gloried form, free from the evidence of His suffering, He did not look the same. This permitted Him to gradually reveal the Truth of His Resurrection, and to reveal to us a just as greater truth – that He remains with us in the ”breaking of the bread” – an euphemism for the Holy Eucharist used in the early Church to conceal the true meaning from unbelievers.
Scripture tells us “He was known to them in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:35). This repetition of the action of the Last Supper, together with His sudden disappearance, opened their eyes, probably both by natural insight, as well as graced inspiration “which burned in their hearts.”
Luke 24:42-43 tells us: “They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them.” This showed us that the resurrected body has all the natural properties of the human body, even though the necessity of eating is no longer there.
Shortly before his death, Pope St. John Paul II said,
The account of the Risen Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus helps us to focus on a primary aspect of the Eucharistic mystery, one which should always be present in the devotion of the People of God: The Eucharist is a mystery of light! What does this mean, and what are its implications for Christian life and spirituality?
Jesus described himself as the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12), and this quality clearly appears at those moments in his life, like the Transfiguration and the Resurrection, in which his divine glory shines forth brightly. Yet in the Eucharist the glory of Christ remains veiled. The Eucharist is pre-eminently a mysterium fidei. Through the mystery of his complete hiddenness, Christ becomes a mystery of light, thanks to which believers are led into the depths of the divine life. By a happy intuition, Rublëv’s celebrated icon of the Trinity clearly places the Eucharist at the centre of the life of the Trinity.
The Eucharist is light above all because at every Mass the liturgy of the Word of God precedes the liturgy of the Eucharist in the unity of the two “tables”, the table of the Word and the table of the Bread. This continuity is expressed in the Eucharistic discourse of Saint John’s Gospel, where Jesus begins his teaching by speaking of the mystery of his person and then goes on to draw out its Eucharistic dimension: “My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (Jn 6:55). We know that this was troubling for most of his listeners, which led Peter to express the faith of the other Apostles and of the Church throughout history: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). In the account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Christ himself intervenes to show, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets”, how “all the Scriptures” point to the mystery of his person (cf. Lk 24:27). His words make the hearts of the disciples “burn” within them, drawing them out of the darkness of sorrow and despair, and awakening in them a desire to remain with him: “Stay with us, Lord” (cf. v. 29).
…
It is significant that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, duly prepared by our Lord’s words, recognized him at table through the simple gesture of the “breaking of bread”. When minds are enlightened and hearts are enkindled, signs begin to “speak”. The Eucharist unfolds in a dynamic context of signs containing a rich and luminous message. Through these signs the mystery in some way opens up before the eyes of the believer.
– Mane Nobiscum Domine (Stay with us Lord, 7 October 2004)
Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven was 40 days after His Resurrection.
He appeared to many people and gave the apostles and other disciples both further explanations of His teaching. As He was about to return to the Father at the Ascension, He instructed the Eleven (the apostles) in their responsibility to continue His mission of salvation, exercising His authority, and sanctifying and teaching the world.
Matthew 28:16-20:
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
This is skeptic who refuses to believe something unless he or she has tangible proof.
In John 20:24-29, the apostle Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead. He was not present when Jesus had appeared to the other disciples, and he said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe.” More than a week later, Jesus appeared to all of them, including Thomas. When Jesus asked Thomas to place his hand in His wounds, Thomas fully believed that Jesus had indeed risen. He proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”
Easter lilies, the flower most associated with this holy season, are symbols of purity and hope. Some have speculated that they symbolize the Resurrection of Jesus because they look like trumpets announcing that Jesus has risen from the dead.
Yes, in Jerusalem the Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the area where Jesus was crucified, buried and subsequently rose from the dead.
St. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, converted to Christianity later in her life. When she was in her 80s, she went on a Holy Land pilgrimage to locate the important sites in Christianity and to find relics, especially the True Cross.
With the help of Christians who lived in the vicinity of Jerusalem, St. Helena located the spot of Jesus’ crucifixion. On Calvary, there was a temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Venus, which St. Helena ordered to be destroyed. After St. Helena found these holy places, Constantine had the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built over Calvary and the tomb of Jesus’ Resurrection.
The Church doesn’t affirm the authenticity of the Shroud with any Magisterial authority, however, she treats it as a relic of the Passion. There is a large body of forensic evidence to support that conclusion, from the pollen local to Jerusalem found upon it, the art history which shows “the face” appearing in art as early as the 6th century, when a cloth called the Mandylion (or Image of Odessa) was venerated as the face of Christ. In our own day, the Shroud’s mysterious negative image of a man who suffered what the Gospels describe Christ suffered has yet to be explained, despite almost fifty years of exhaustive scientific investigation.
For an article by Fr. Dwight Longenecker that discusses many of the facts regarding the Shroud., see:
READ MOREType AB blood is on the Shroud, the same blood type as the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, which Pope St. Paul VI allowed to be tested.
Yes, but the carbon dating was flawed. The section of the cloth that was tested had been repaired in 1352 with new cloth after a fire in Chambéry, France, which melted parts of the silver casket it was kept in. Russian scientists also showed that the presence of bacteria on ancient cloth can distort the carbon dating process. Either explanation defeats the integrity of the test. As yet, no investigator has successfully accomplished with the tools of the 20th and 21st century what a 13th century forger allegedly accomplished with the tools of his.
When we pray the Glorious Mysteries, we enter into the greatest Truth of our faith: Jesus rose from the dead. He ascended into Heaven. The Father and He sent the Holy Spirit to all of us. And He assumed His Mother, His faithful cooperator in salvation, into His Heavenly Kingdom, where He crowned her Queen.
We pray that this Scriptural Rosary will help you to better meditate on the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.
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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
