Open Reflections

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Easter and its significance

The Hebrew word for Easter is Pesach (in Latin and Greek Pascha) and means Passover, i.e. passing over. 

In the Old Testament the feast of the Pesach was the commemoration of the passing of the Israelites  through the Red Sea over to the other side, when Moses led them from the slavery of Egypt into freedom.

The Christian Easter feast denotes the passing of Jesus Christ over from death to Life, i.e. it is the feast of Christ’s Resurrection. The well-known greeting “Good Easter” and “Good Resurrection” in the Greek-speaking world, which follows Easter Sunday for several days (it used to be until Ascension Day) beyond its social and ecclesial dimension has a spiritual one: in it is contained the anticipation of every one’s personal Passover from this life, marred and wounded  by sin and death, to the Risen Life with Christ. 

This Risen Life does not begin once our earthly life is over; it has already begun by our Baptism and it is strengthened every time we pray and do good and every time we approach the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion with deep desire and love.

Sunday, the day of joy

Starting from Easter Sunday, and every Sunday, the Church celebrates the splendid and full of gladness mystery of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The joyful character of Sunday was so important in the primitive Church that we read in the “Didaché of the Apostles” (the Apostles Teaching), a book written around the beginning of the 2nd century, “The Christian faithful must be joyful on Sunday and neither must he cause sorrow to himself nor be sad, for the he sins”!

Moreover, Sunday has never been a day of fasting and, in the Orient, the faithful were encouraged to pray standing up. It was forbidden to them to kneel on a Sunday, since kneeling was viewed as the gesture par excellence of repentance, which does not “agree” with the good and joyful news of the Resurrection!

The liturgy, a living experience and participation

The basic structure of the Church’s liturgy is centred on the Paschal Mystery, which is the central mystery of Salvation. The Church always celebrates in each of her liturgies one and only mystery, the Paschal Mystery, i.e. the death and Resurrection of Jesus. The liturgy’s primary aim is not teaching, but rather enacting and experiencing the life of Christ. Through the liturgy the person of Christ is revealed and His work of Salvation is remembered and lived.

The faithfuls’ participation in the liturgy of the Church engages their whole mind and heart and this way they may enter into a more dynamic and vital communion with God and with each other.

Through the liturgical action of the Church we are introduced and drawn into the incessant movement of Love that exists in the bosom of the Tri-une God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The liturgy is only  possible through the living and acting presence of Christ. Through His Church our Lord continues His saving work, that is our sanctification and our union with Him. Through the Church we receive light and gladness in our spiritual life.

A patrimony which must be shared

As Pastors, we have first of all reflected on the mission to proclaim the Gospel in today’s world. This mission, “Go, make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19), is today more timely and necessary than ever, even in traditionally Christian countries. Moreover, we cannot ignore the increase of secularisation, relativism, even nihilism, especially in the Western world. All this calls for a renewed and powerful proclamation of the Gospel, adapted to the cultures of our time. Our traditions represent for us a patrimony which must be continually shared, proposed, and interpreted anew. This is why we must strengthen our cooperation and our common witness before the world.

(Common Declaration of Pope Benedict XVI and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, §3, 30/11/2006)

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