Chocolate bunny candy; jelly beans; small wicker baskets with a handle; pink, blue, and yellow dyed hard-boiled-eggs; marshmallow peeps; brunch; etc. Does anything on this list remind you of Easter? Of course it does.
The preparation sometimes fails to broaden our reasoning to the actual meaning of Easter. “He has risen, Alleluia!”
All four Gospels of The New Testament state that those who believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection are given, “The gift of eternal life” and are welcomed into the “Kingdom of Heaven”.
Easter is a Springtime Feast. The Earth comes alive and the Lord is raised.
(Matthew 28:1-10, Catholic Bible, Lectio Divina Edition.)
Pray to recognize Jesus in your personal and daily life (Mark 16: 5-6 The Catholic Bible)
Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen (Luke 24: 5-7, The Catholic Bible)
The beloved disciple saw the clothes and believed. (John 20: 8-9 The Catholic Bible)
Bunnies seem to be popular at Easter. Their pictures are on napkins, paper plates, household pictures, fuzzy little toys, and Easter hand towels. I purchased some cute hand towels the other day. I always put seasonal towels in our bathrooms. One of them had a picture of a rabbit and it said, “Some bunny loves you”. I also purchased small plastic buckets with pictures of bunnies on the outside which I filled with Peeps candy and individual items appropriate for a girl or boy. There were five buckets for my five great-grandchildren.
When I was a child Easter was a big day. Yes, we did have wicker Easter baskets filled with lots of junk food from our parents and from Grandma. But Lent was taken very seriously as was Easter Sunday. My parents, being strict Catholics, when we attended mass on Easter Sunday, we understood that the final day of Lent was a part of what we all looked forward to.
The Lord has risen, let us rejoice and be glad” (Psalm 118:24)
Karen Fleming is a longtime companion and friend of St. Paul’s Monastery and is a frequent contributor to St. Paul’s Monastery communications.