Easter is the celebration of the Lord's resurrection from the dead, culminating in his Ascension to the Father and sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
There are 50 days of Easter from the first Sunday to Pentecost. It is characterized, above all, by the joy of glorified life and the victory over death, expressed most fully in the great resounding cry of the Christian: Alleluia! All faith flows from faith in the resurrection: "If Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, is your faith." (1 Cor 15:14)
"What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind;…So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. So, too, it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being," the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one (1 Cor 15:36-37, 42-49).
Read the Exsultet, the Proclamation of Easter, and a commentary on its origins and meaning.
Monday, April 3: Mass at 8 a.m. Confessions available from 3-8 pm.
Tuesday: Mass at 8 a.m.
Wednesday: Mass at 8 a.m.
Holy Thursday: No morning Mass, Prayer at 8 a.m. , 7 p.m. Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Visitation to the Repository, concluding with Tenebrae at 10 p.m.
Good Friday: (Fast & Abstinence) Prayer at 8 a.m., 3 p.m. Celebration of the Lord’s Passion, 6 p.m. Confessions, 7 p.m. Stations of the Cross.
Holy Saturday: Prayer at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. Blessing of Food, 8 p.m. Easter Vigil---Mass of the Lord’s Resurrection… no 5 p.m. Mass
Easter Sunday: 7:30 a.m. (church) 9:30 (church & hall) 11:30 (church) No Mass at 5 p.m.
The word "Easter" comes from Old English, meaning simply the "East." The sun which rises in the East, bringing light, warmth and hope, is a symbol for the Christian of the rising Christ, who is the true Light of the world. The Paschal Candle is a central symbol of this divine light, which is Christ. It is kept near the ambo throughout Easter Time, and lit for all liturgical celebrations.
Easter via USCCB
The summit of the Liturgical Year is the Easter Triduum—from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ's Paschal Mystery.
The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season, and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.
The liturgical services that take place during the Triduum are:
The following eighteen questions address the most commonly received questions concerning the Sacred Paschal Triduum: