Bouquets and Flowers For Every Event...
This information is intended for parents of school-age children and teachers who are imparting Religious Education within a Catholic school environment.
E A S T E R
The contents of these documents are related to the present day teaching of the Catholic Church in relation to Doctrine, Liturgy and Catholic practices. There are also special sections on Catholic Marriage and arranging a funeral in the Catholic Church.
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Even the greatest human mind can't grasp the resurrection, for it defies understanding. Christians know when where and why it happened but they don't know how. They simply know that it did. It's the central tenet of Christian faith and the most important event in world history. But for a world that relies on DNA, on witnesses, CCTV and physical evidence the resurrection doesn't add up. After all, dead bodies don't just get up and walk away.
Easter Sunday is God's day of cosmic laughter. The power of evil could not contain Christ. Death had no hold over him. All that afflicts humanity, all that makes our days heavy was swept away as the stone was rolled from the tomb. God laughed in the face of the puny attempts to reduce the dignity of human existence. The forces of darkness were dispersed by the glorious brilliance of resurrection light.
Resurrection is about the grandeur of God, about a new dawn scattering all that seeks to drag us down. It's a jubilant reminder that God rules over creation and is capable of turning our ideas about reality on their heads. For microscopes cannot manage mystery and physics flounders in the face of faith. When Jesus rose from the dead he proved that there is more to life than meets the eye. And only eyes of faith can enjoy the vision that is resurrection.
The events of Easter Sunday reveal that we are designed and destined for more than physical existence. Out of despair comes hope; from weakness arises strength; pain becomes peace and sorrow changes to joy. From death there springs new life, a risen life promising that nothing can possibly keep us from that deep quality, that eternal life which Jesus offers us by shattering the doors of the tomb.
EASTER CUSTOMS
Although Christmas overshadows it commercially, Easter is in fact the most important feast in the calendar for it celebrates the ultimate victory of Jesus over death and evil. That's why the Easter Vigil ceremony so clearly contains within it all the symbols that Christians call upon throughout the rest of the year.
English-speaking people use the word "Easter" which has resonances of the old Anglo-Saxon pagan worship of the goddess "Eostre". Countries whose languages are based on Latin (such as France, Portugal, Italy and Spain) use a word that comes from the Latin "pascha", emphasising Christ's passing over from death to life. That's where we get our word "Passover" from.
Eggs and rabbits were pagan symbols of fertility that survived into the Christian era, hence Easter eggs and references to the Easter Bunny.
Easter parades were once popular, an opportunity for people to show off the new clothes they had bought or made for this festive time when spring allows a changeover from the heavy winter wear. In some cities this was formalised at the end of the Easter period when whole sections of society would take part in "Whit Walks" wearing their Sunday best and proudly professing their faith.
NEW EARS!
The 50 days of Easter are one long celebration for the Church. We relish the resurrection in all its details. But they're also a good opportunity to spruce up on our understanding of our faith. In fact, these days have a special (awkward-sounding) name: the period of Mystagogy. This refers to the process being undertaken by those who became Christians at Easter. It's the final period in their initiation when they are led deeper into the mysteries of Christian faith. On Sundays the scripture readings are geared to these new Christians. So why not imagine that you too have only just become a member of Christ's Church and listen to these readings with new ears? You may find that there's something you've always missed!
The resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon report in the Acts. The resurrection and its consequences were the "gospel" or good news which the Christian brought: what we call "the gospels", the narratives of Our Lord's life and death, were composed later for the benefit of those who had already accepted the gospel. They were in no sense the basis of Christianity: they were written for those already converted. The miracle of the resurrection, and the theology of that miracle, comes first: the biography comes later as a comment on it. Nothing could be more unhistorical than to pick out selected sayings of Christ from the gospels and to regard those as the datum and the rest of the New Testament as a construction upon it. The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the resurrection.
(C.S. Lewis)
