ONE GREAT SUNDAY

 

 

AN ORDINARY VIEWPOINT
An Occasional Column of Episcopal Comment
by Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz S.T.D.



THE FATHERS
There are probably no more eloquent sermons, homilies, and discourses about the resurrection of our Lord than those recorded of so many Church Fathers. Saint Athanasius said that the fifty days of Easter, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, ought to be considered by all faithful Christians as "one great Sunday", with Easter itself and its Octave, the eight days following, always considered as "the early hours of the greatest and most noble of all Christian feasts".

Saint Jerome said that Easter is a day which spiritually "shines at the empty tomb of our Savior brighter than the sun. A day when hell trembles at seeing its power broken." Pope Saint Clement I said that "God the Father has constituted the Lord Jesus Christ as the first fruits of the future resurrection of all humanity." Saint Augustine of Hippo said, "Are you looking for happiness? Then look to Christ, Who came to earth to share our misery, to be hungry, to be thirsty, to suffer a thousand torments. But, look at Him now and see how on the third day He rose from the dead after His work was accomplished, and in that resurrection death itself died."

Saint Gregory Nazienzen said, "O Pasch of the Lord, O Easter, you are the greatest and most holy of days, the purifier of the world!" Saint John Chrysostom said, "Let us celebrate this greatest and most shining feast, the day on which the Lord has risen from the dead. Let us celebrate it with joy and in equal measure with prayer and devotion. For the Lord has risen and together with Him, He has raised the whole world, breaking the chains of death." Pope Saint Leo the Great said, "The resurrection of the Lord was not the end of His Body, but it was Its change. Its nature was not consumed in the increase of Its perfection...that Body which could suffer crucifixion became impassible. What could be killed became immortal. What could be wounded is now invulnerable....A beginning of our own resurrection took place in Christ Who died for our sins and rose for our justification."

THE GREAT VIGIL
On Holy Saturday night the whole Catholic Church keeps vigil to anticipate and then to share in the glory of the annual re-living and commemoration of the greatest of miracles, Christ's resurrection. Pope John Paul II says, "The Easter Vigil encompasses the whole history of man in all its dimensions...All is fulfilled on this night, an extraordinary night, a night full of holy splendor. Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. He Himself said, I have the power to lay down my life and I have the power to take it up again (John 10:17-18)."

The Holy Father points out, "The great Easter Vigil is the ideal moment for Baptism. During the Vigil the symbol of light is linked with the symbol of water and reminds us that we are all born again of water and the Holy Spirit in order to share in the new life revealed in Christ's resurrection. "In Him is life and the life is the light of men" (John 1:4). O truly blessed night, which brings Christ's light to all people! O night of limitless splendor, shed the light of hope and peace on every corner of the earth! The night of the Easter Vigil is the symbol of the reality which conquers darkness, sin, and death. The Easter Vigil, the most blessed night, is the witness of this victory of Jesus."

The Supreme Pontiff remarks, "The Church gathers for the Easter Vigil to listen anew for the words that the holy women heard when they went to the tomb of Jesus "while it was still dark". "You seek Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But, go and tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee and there you will see Him as He told you." (Mark 16:6-7) Let us welcome this news with open hearts and great joy at every Easter Vigil. Let us share in the Church's great joy. Christ is truly risen, Alleluia."

CATECHISM
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Christ's resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God Himself in creation and history. In it the three divine Persons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. The Father's power raised up Christ His Son, and by doing so perfectly introduced His Son's humanity, including His Body, into the Trinity. Jesus is conclusively revealed as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:3-4; Acts of the Apostles 2:24). Saint Paul insists on the manifestation of God's power through the working of the Holy Spirit Who gave life to Jesus' dead humanity and called it to the glorious state of Lordship (Romans 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Philippians 3:10; Ephesians 1:19-22). As for the Son, He effects His own resurrection by virtue of His divine power (Mark 8:31; John 10:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:14)."

"The truth of Christ's divinity is confirmed by His resurrection (John 8:28)...The resurrection of the crucified One shows that He was truly "I AM" (Yahweh), the Son of God and God Himself. So Saint 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 (Acts of the Apostles 13:32-34; Psalm 2:7)."

"O truly blessed night, sings the Exultet of the Easter Vigil, which alone deserved to know the time and the hour when Christ rose from the realm of death...Although the resurrection was an historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the reality of the Apostles' encounters with the risen Christ, still it remains at the very heart of the mystery of faith as something that transcends and surpasses history."

Using the inspired words of God in Sacred Scripture, the Holy Father tells us that on Easter we should say in our hearts, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone" (Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42), and "This is the work of the Lord, a marvel in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23), and "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad" (Psalm 118:24).

The Bishop of Rome says that on Easter we must recall that "the Lord of life has risen with power, bringing with Him love, justice, respect, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The One Who from nothingness had called the world into existence, only He could break the seals of the tomb, only He could become our source of new life."