Lent  Holy Week  Easter Guided by the Resurrection

Carrying the lessons of Easter into our daily lives

BY MARY CLIFFORD MORRELL  Contributing Editor

Holy Week is a time of unparalleled expression of the sacred, full of symbols, meaning and movement toward the most important celebration of the Church – Easter and the Resurrection of Christ. It is the reason for our hope and joy, but, in today’s world, the spirit and language of Easter seem to fade along with the lilies once Easter is over.

When we remember our Easter faith, we remember the hope and promises we have as Catholic Christians. When we hear and use the language of Easter – talk of waiting, of new life, of resurrection, triumph, and possibilities, we bring to mind the greatest love story ever told. But with the incalculable number of distractions and challenges that find their way into daily life, it can be difficult to stay focused on the Easter story and the faith lessons it conveys.

In a 1986 Angelus address during an apostolic journey to the Far East and Oceania, St. Pope John Paul II shared wisdom that included a now famous quote: “We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery – the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. ‘We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!’”

The challenge we face is remembering how to live as Easter people throughout the year.

In this year’s Easter message, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., assures us, “Faith in the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ expresses the conviction so profoundly that there is much more to life than what we see and feel in this world, that as good as this life may be, despite its challenges and difficult moments – despite its crosses – there is a better life to come because of the Resurrection of Christ.”

The stained glass image of the Resurrected Christ is found in Holy Name Church, Delran. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., urges the faithful to remember that “there is a better life to come because of the Resurrection of Christ.” File photo. At left, friends continue demonstrating the Easter promise by showing compassion.

For many of us, there is a great need to focus on the Resurrection and the joy of Easter, especially when times are hard. For me, this has meant imagining Jesus as a man of joy. It seems unlikely that Jesus would have changed the world, with just 12

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