Easter, also called Pascha, celebrates Jesus Christ’s Resurrection from the dead on the third day after his Crucifixion.
It is the oldest and most significant Holy Day in the Church, representing the fulfillment of God’s promises to man. It is the key to salvation and foreshadowed by the Jewish celebration of the Passover.
Raising from the dead was Jesus’ victory over evil, sin, and death and proved that He was the Son of God.
The Easter Holy Day is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. It can fall between March 22 and April 25, coinciding with the Jewish Passover.
In the Catholic Church, the season of Easter continues for seven weeks, until Pentecost Sunday. The first eight days of Easter are called the Octave of Easter and celebrated together as one day.
Easter traditions point back to Jesus:
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
John 20: 1-3
Easter changes everything:
The Resurrection is an anchor of hope:
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For a moment Jesus seemed vanquished: darkness had invaded the land, the silence of God was complete, hope a seemingly empty word. And lo, on the dawn of the day after the Sabbath, the tomb is found empty. Jesus then shows himself to Mary Magdalene, to the other women, to his disciples. Faith is born anew, more alive and strong than ever, now invincible since it is based on a decisive experience: “Death with life contended: combat strangely ended! Life’s own champion, slain, now lives to reign”. The signs of the resurrection testify to the victory of life over death, love over hatred, mercy over vengeance: “The tomb the living did enclose, I saw Christ’s glory as he rose! The angels there attesting, shroud with grave-clothes resting”.
Pope Benedict XVI, Urbi et Orbi Message, 8 April 2012
Truly alive again through the power of God:
The Resurrection is a glorious miracle:
The link between Christian Easter and Jewish Passover:
Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles – and Peter in particular – in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church. the faith of the first community of believers is based on the witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary “witnesses to his Resurrection”, but they are not the only ones – Paul speaks clearly of more than five hundred persons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 642
Easter lasts longer than a day:
The week after Easter is especially significant:
The Mass readings of the Easter season are special:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Resurrecting the Christian tradition in the visual arts:
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