Let’s celebrate Easter for a while

This 12 months, I’m glad to see Lent come to an finish, and never simply due to Easter Alleluias and Cadbury darkish chocolate eggs.

It was a troublesome Lent. A part of it, after all, had nothing explicitly to do with Lent. The information has typically been dreadful, a reminder, I suppose of why we’d like saving. This damaged, battered, merciless world wants a savior. I would like a savior.

Maybe this was not true for you, however my Lent was particularly troublesome as a result of I had hassle protecting my Lenten resolves. None of them have been all that tough, by the best way. However every of them demanded a specific amount of diligence within the sacrifice, and diligence was a battle this 12 months.

I gained’t go into all of the bloody particulars, besides to say that when “Son of a … ” flew from my lips, solely to keep in mind that I had resolved to chorus from saying “Son of a … ,” effectively, it was that sort of Lent.

Considered one of my favourite Easter reflections is from St. John Chrysostom. He’s a saint revered by each the Jap and Western church buildings, and for a lot of good causes. However this quote from his Easter homily proclaiming the time to have a good time reveals his Christ-like love of our poor humanity.

“First and final alike obtain your reward; wealthy and poor, rejoice collectively! Sober and slothful, have a good time the day! You which have stored the quick, and also you that haven’t, rejoice in the present day for the Desk is richly laden! Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one. Let nobody go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of religion. Take pleasure in all of the riches of His goodness! Let nobody grieve at his poverty, for the common kingdom has been revealed. Let nobody mourn that he has fallen many times; for forgiveness has risen from the grave.”

“Forgiveness has risen from the grave,” so “you which have stored the quick, and also you that haven’t,” come and have a good time all the identical. All of us: These of us who didn’t accomplish that effectively this Lent. These of us who stored our resolutions with gritted enamel and quiet grumbling. These of us who sacrificed with a prayerful soul and a smile.

St. Chrysostom reminds us that each one of us are invited to the feast: The lazy and the great, the sober and the slothful, wealthy and poor.

In one other a part of the identical homily, he invokes that nice parable that so frustrates Individuals. It’s the one concerning the employees within the winery (Mt 20:1-16) who present up at completely different instances of the day, but all get the identical fee at day’s finish. Boy, does that frost our puritan cupcake.

Easter, St. Chrysostom says, is similar reward for all of us. Lent is an effective self-discipline, a approach of reminding us of the Lord’s personal struggling and sacrifice on our behalf. However that sacrifice has been already made for us, and now on this wonderful Easter season, we will have a good time that he actually is risen and loss of life defeated.

And if I’ll recommend an Easter decision: Let’s not let Easter be forgotten in a flash. We spent 40 days within the desert of Lent. Allow us to now, as they did in St. Chrysostom’s day, spend 40 days rejoicing.

Escape the Cadbury eggs! Have fun with particular meals! Specific gratitude for the blessing that this, the best feast within the church calendar, actually is.

There might be different Lents. There is only one Easter occasion. Let’s remind this tormented outdated world that there’s a comfortable ending.

Greg Erlandson is an award-winning Catholic writer, editor and journalist whose column seems month-to-month at OSV Information. Comply with him on Twitter @GregErlandson.