‍EASTERTIDE

‍The spirit of Eastertide is a spirit of sincere gratitude to the risen Christ, through whom we possess eternal life. “I live, and you shall live.” We should acquire this spirit of joy, a spirit which will lift us above sin and the world and death. The risen Christ will give us the strength to overcome the powers of darkness and death. We must have a spirit of hope. We shall, since Christ rose, most certainly rise on the last day, and our bodies shall be awakened to eternal life. “I shall not die, but life.” We should have an unshakeable faith, for Christ arose from the dead. His resurrection attests His divinity and the truth of His doctrine.

‍Easter sets a new task before us. We must now begin to live the life of the new man. We rose with Christ in baptism. “If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. For you are dead [to the world, to sin, to temporal things], and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:1-3). “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened…Let us feast, not with the old leaven…of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:7 f.) Daily during the Easter season the liturgy reminds us, both in the Mass and in the Divine Office, of the words of the Apostle: “Christ, rising again from the dead, dieth now no more.” He died to sin once for all; He lives now for God (Rom 6:9f). Christ, the whole Christ (the Church, all of us), now lives for God.

‍We are the “Christ” who is risen. We died to sin in baptism. We live now for God. “Christ, rising again from the dead, dieth now no more.” We have put an end to our sinning, and we live now only for God and for the performance of His Holy will. “Our conversation is in heaven” (Phil 3:20). We must acquire a spirit of self-denial, and be willing to carry the cross of Christ. We can share in the life of the risen Christ only if we have been willing to share His humiliation and crucifixion.

‍The time from Easter to Pentecost is merely an extension of the feast of Easter, forming a continuous, uninterrupted Easter feast. In various forms recure thoughts that deal primarily with Christ’s resurrection and our call to share His new life with Him. “I live, and you shall live” (John 14:19).

‍                                                        Benedict Baur, OSB, The Light of the World