This week we celebrate the Octave of Easter, but some of the faithful may wonder what that is. The Octave of Easter is the eight-day period during which Easter is celebrated, which includes the actual feast day of Easter on Easter Sunday. The Octave begins on Easter Sunday and ends on the Second Sunday of Easter of the Divine Mercy with every day being another solemnity or another “little Easter.” Monday, April 5, is referred to as “Monday in the Octave of Easter.”
Christ is risen! The comprehension and joy of this amazing gift of Christ conquering sin and death by his own death and resurrection is not confined to just one day. The Octave of Easter gives us time to impress upon our souls the Easter mysteries: the joys and graces of this great feast of the Church. Each day of the Octave, the liturgy reflects upon the mysteries of the resurrection of Christ and our own resurrection through the sacrament of Baptism.
For many years in the Diocese of Jackson, the priests went on retreat right after Easter, so in most of the parishes of our Diocese, the Masses of the Octave of Easter were not celebrated. We are now having the priests’ retreat for the Diocese the second week of the Easter season. One of the motivations of moving the retreat was the celebration of the Octave of Easter.
As we celebrate the Wednesday of the Octave of Easter today, we hear the familiar Gospel of the Road to Emmaus. As we are all pilgrims on a journey of faith, this Gospel reading of the disciples meeting Jesus on their journey appeals to all of us, since we all encounter Jesus on our own pilgrimage journey. We might wonder why the disciples were on the road that day. Were they afraid? Were they trying to run away from something? Were they trying to flee from their faith?
In many ways, these disciples were broken, frustrated, angry, and confused. Through their interaction with Jesus, through the kindness they offer to a supposed stranger, through the breaking open of God’s word and breaking bread together, these disciples recognize him, they believe, and they bring the Gospel message to others.
We, too, are called to offer acts of kindness to the stranger and the broken. We, too, are to break open God’s word, to have his word interact with the reality of our lives. In the Eucharist, in the breaking of the bread around the Lord’s table, we are to receive nourishment, encouragement and, life. Yes, like the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, we too are pilgrims on a journey. May we never forget that.
No comments:
Post a Comment