EASTER IS THE CHIEF FEAST of the Christian year, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Easter is a 50-day celebration of the new life given through Christ. The celebration begins at the Easter Vigil and culminates on the Day of Pentecost.
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Service Folder The second Sunday of Easter has traditionally been called “Quasimodo Geniti” (pronounced KWAsi-MOdo- JENetee) Sunday. (The literary character from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, “Quasimodo,” got his name from this Sunday.) It is Latin for the first two words of today’s Introit: “Like newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the Word. The Word joined to Water, that is, Baptism,…
Service Folder Easter is the Christian Church’s High Feast. Sunday’s lessons all highlight the reason for it – the resurrection of Jesus from the dead – Joshua 3:1, 9-17: As the Ark led the children of Israel through the Jordan River on dry land, the Risen Jesus leads us through death to the resurrection of the dead and eternal life. –…
Service Folder This Sunday is a transition from Jesus’ Ascension on the 40th day of Easter to the Feast of Pentecost, the 50th day after Easter. It marks a unique period in the life of the disciples. The moment of separation from their Lord is but a few days back. The promise of the Holy Spirit is still to be realized. Jesus…
Service Folder Sorrow gives way to joy – the joy of the risen Jesus. In the gospel Jesus teaches this truth by using the illustration of a mother who has sorrow when seized by labor pains. A mother’s sorrow turns to joy when her baby is born and placed into her arms. It is an appropriate illustration as Mother’s Day converges with…
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Service Folder Faith in the Risen Jesus Overcomes Fear and Doubt. On two successive Sundays – Easter Eve and the following Sunday Eve – the risen Jesus bodily stood among the disciples cowering in fear and another struggling with doubt. Standing among them he said, “Peace be with you”. To underscore the peace he brings, he showed the disciples the nail prints…