50 Days of Easter Glory
Our 40-day Lenten pilgrimage has come to an end, and it is time for the Christian faithful to embark on a new pilgrimage: 50 Days of Easter Glory! It is fitting that we will spend more time celebrating Easter than the penitential practices of Lent since it allows us the opportunity to rejoice that the cross leads to the Resurrection, while also remembering that a Christian never abandons the cross since without it, we cannot know the rising to new life.
We might consider how we will spend these 50 days of Easter Glory. The gospel accounts of the Resurrection all centre around the ways people encountered the Risen Christ and then shared that experience with others. Where do we find the Risen Christ?
Many will find Him in receiving the Eucharist and adoring Him in adoration; for to the behold the Eucharistic Lord is to take and eat His Body and Blood that lead us closer to our own day of Resurrection.
Many find Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as to make a confession to experience what the Apostles received when the Risen Christ breathed the Holy Spirit upon them and gave them the power to forgive sins in His name. Every confession allows us to meet the Risen Christ and receive that spiritual healing and absolution that again leads us onward to eternal life.
Many will find Him in the works of charity, personal prayers, opportunity to teach the faith to others and even the persecutions we face for standing up for Christ and the Church. All those first Christians who saw the Risen Christ went on to live Christians lives that were marked by good works, prayers, personal sufferings and evangelizing opportunities to spread the Good News and work on fulfilling the command of Christ to preach the gospel to all nations until the end of time.
Let us savour these 50 days of Easter and not let them pass by without drawing closer to Our Lord and His Holy Church.