We Have Reason to Celebrate!

On Wednesday, Feb. 17, many of the faithful heard Mass and received ashes on their foreheads as they listened to these words uttered by the priest: “Remember, you are dust, and to dust you will return!” We were then instructed to ‘climb the holy mountain of Easter’ by an increase in prayer and penance over the 40 days of Lent. Now Holy Church asks us to celebrate in a special way the definitive victory over sin and death by our Lord Jesus Christ by His suffering, death and resurrection during the fifty days of the Easter season stretching from Easter Sunday to Pentecost.

The first days of the Easter season are Easter Sunday and the days of the Easter octave (eight days), all celebrated as solemnities, each day celebrated as if it were Easter. Hearing at Mass the appearances of the resurrected Jesus to His disciples and meditating on the resurrections itself, one is tempted to say, “If only I could have been at the tomb that Easter Sunday.”

One can easily forget that not only is the sacrifice of our Savior made present at Mass, so is His resurrection. So in this sense we are present at Calvary and the tomb on the first Easter Sunday at every Mass. That is why these words are found in each Eucharistic prayer immediately after the words of consecration- “Father, we celebrate the memory of Christ, your Son. We, your people and your ministers, recall his passion, his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into glory” (Eucharistic prayer #1); “In memory of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Father, this life giving bread, this saving cup” (Eucharistic prayer #2); “Father, calling to mind the death your Son endured for our salvation, his glorious resurrection and ascension into heaven, and ready to greet him when he comes again, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice” (Eucharistic prayer #3) and “Father, we now celebrate this memorial of our redemption. We recall Christ’s death, his descent among the dead, his resurrection, and his ascension to your right hand; and, looking forward to his coming in glory, we offer you his body and blood, the acceptable sacrifice which brings salvation to the whole world” (Eucharistic prayer #4).

Unfortunately, much is lost in translation to the vernacular languages. We are not recalling something in the past (like remembering a marriage that happened 50 years ago as we count our facial wrinkles) but recalling something by actually making it present and in this case, the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, at Mass, Jesus does not die and rise from the dead again, another time. Christ died and rose once and these events cannot be repeated but the one and only death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are made present. This is what the Mass is. Yes, we truly have something profound to celebrate!

I hope that many of you will be able to join us Friday, May 5 as we begin again our First Friday Fish Fries outside of Lent to benefit St. Gianna’s Women’s Homes. This will be Friday of the fifth week of Easter. Help us break in our new Fry Master which will help us enhance our fish fries! Hopefully, weather permitting, we will even have outdoor seating and some other surprises.

It is our prayer at Catholic Social Services that you have a blessed and holy Easter season!

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All Questions are answered by a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln and published on the Southern Nebraska Register.