EASTER is not simply one feast among others, but the “Feast of feasts,” the “Solemnity of solemnities,” just as the Eucharist is the “Sacrament of sacraments” (the Great Sacrament). St. Athanasius calls Easter “the Great Sunday” and the Eastern Churches call Holy Week “the Great Week.” The mystery of the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time, until all is subjected to him.  [CCC 1169]

Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. On this Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For Catholics, Easter Sunday comes at the end of 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving known as Lent. Through spiritual struggle and self-denial, we have prepared ourselves to die spiritually with Christ on Good Friday, the day of His Crucifixion, so that we can rise again with Him in new life on Easter. Easter is a day of celebration because it represents the fulfillment of our faith as Christians. St. Paul wrote that, unless Christ rose from the dead, our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:17). Through his death, Christ saved mankind from bondage to sin, and He destroyed the hold that death has on all of us; but it is His Resurrection that gives us the promise of new life, both in this world and the next. That new life began on Easter Sunday. In the Our Father, we pray that "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." And Christ told His disciples that some of them would not die until they saw the Kingdom of God "coming in power" (Mark 9:1). The early Christian Fathers saw Easter as the fulfillment of that promise. With the resurrection of Christ, God's Kingdom is established on earth, in the form of the Church.

What is the origin of the word Easter?

Just as there are many traditions surrounding the celebration of Easter, there are many stories and legends surrounding the origin of the word Easter. To some, it is the history and celebration of spring; for others it is a day to remember deliverance; for many it is the celebration of new life in Christ. Let's look at a few explanations:

Eostre - a pagan Anglo-Saxon Goddess

This mythical figure is said to have been the goddess of the sunrise and the spring. She is the Teutonic goddess of the dawn. The direction of the sunrise, East, is named for her. In Norse mythology, the name is spelled Eostare. Another considered the Norse/Saxon goddess of spring is Ostara. Eastre is believed to be an ancient word for spring.

Pesach - the Passover

While pagans celebrated the rites of spring, the Jews celebrated Passover, the anniversary of the day God delivered them out of Egyptian bondage. God had demanded the firstborn male from every household, but had promised to pass over any house with the blood of a perfect lamb smeared on its doorpost. He then commanded the Jews to remember their deliverance through the ceremony of the Passover. Pesach is the Hebrew word for Passover. Its position in the Jewish calendar coincidentally corresponds to the beginning of Spring.

Easter - An Early Celebration of Christ's Resurrection.

Another idea involves the history of the Frankish church (Germans who settled in Rome during the fifth century). Their the celebration of Christ's resurrection included the word alba, which means white (the color of the robes worn during the resurrection festival). Alba also meant sunrise. So when the name of the festival was translated into German, the sunrise meaning, ostern, was selected, likely in error. One theory is that Ostern is the origin of the word Easter.

Throughout Scripture, God speaks of the Sacrificial Lamb. Beginning in Genesis 22, we read of God's command to Abraham that he sacrifice his son Isaac, the son of God's promise. When Abraham obediently raises his hand to sacrifice Isaac, God stops him. He is satisfied that Abraham is a man of great faith. When Isaac asks his father "where is the lamb for the sacrifice?", Abraham replies, "God will provide Himself the sacrifice." Many believe this was the first foreshadowing of the time when God Himself would become the sacrifice for all the sin
of man, through the person of Jesus Christ.

Christians believe the deeper meaning of the Passover involves this sacrifice, as Jesus himself was crucified on the Friday of Passover week and resurrected on Passover Sunday. Because He is seen as the ultimate Sacrificial Lamb, anyone who accepts the gift of His sacrifice is said to have His blood on the doorposts of their hearts. Therefore, when the final judgment comes, God will pass them over. In Christ, those who believe are set free from the power and penalty of sin.

Origin of the Word Easter: What does it mean today?

More important than the question of how the word Easter originated is what it means to us today. When you think of the word Easter, what do you see? If you see bunnies and baskets of chocolate eggs, you are missing out on the richness of this day, considered by many Christians to be even more significant than Christmas. Easter, to Christians, is actually Resurrection Day - the anniversary of the day Jesus rose in triumph from the grave,  claiming victory over death. Because He lives, so can you and I, through simple faith in Him. God provided Himself the sacrifice. Thanks to Him, you and I have the hope of eternal life with Him. Won't you trust in Him today?


DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY is a very special Sunday when the Divine Floodgates from Heaven are wide-opened and Jesus offers us the total forgiveness of all sins and punishment to any soul, who goes to Confession and receives Him in Holy Communion, on that day.

Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted in the Catholic Church on the Second Sunday of Easter on April 30, 2000 and decreed on May 5th of that year by Pope Saint John Paul II.
 

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD, as of 2001, has been transferred from the Fortieth Day after Easter, a Thursday, to the following Sunday, the Seventh Sunday of Easter. This was done by most bishops of the United States with permission of Pope John Paul II to highlight the meaning of the mystery of the Ascension, a meaning that might be eclipsed by the unfortunate tendency of a growing number of our people who fail to come and celebrate the Liturgy on Thursday, a weekday and a workday in our secular calendar.

The Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter has traditionally been celebrated as the Feast of the Ascension. Presently many dioceses have transferred this feast to the Seventh Sunday of Easter so that it can more easily be celebrated by all. When celebrated on that Thursday, it marks the beginning of a novena that concludes with the feast of Pentecost. During this time we emphasize preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The hymn "Veni, Creator Spiritus" can be used each day. In former times some parishes extinguished the Paschal Candle with great solemnity to symbolize the departure of the Lord to the right hand of the Father. Now, it remains near the altar and ambo until the conclusion of the feast of Pentecost, when it returns to its place near the Baptistery.

Regarding the Ascension of the Lord, the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, and Philadelphia have retained its celebration on the proper Thursday, while all other provinces have transferred this Solemnity to the Seventh Sunday of Easter.