The Other Side of the Mountains

This article was written by Fr. John Gracey for print in the official publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, Central California Catholic Life.

Anticipation is a good thing. Anticipating something we really want makes us appreciate it all the more when it finally arrives. Such is the case for Spring, here on the "Other Side of the Mountains". While we don’t have the epic winters found in other parts of the country, the depth and length of cold experienced in Winter makes Spring a welcome thing when it finally arrives. As the days gradually grow warmer and the crocus, daffodils and tulips show their pretty heads, and the budding trees begin to put on their new green garments, we are reminded that the seasons are changing and that the cycle of life has begun again.

Now that Easter is here, another cycle of life is being celebrated, the season of Easter. That’s right, the "season" of Easter. Just as Spring is anticipated through Winter, when it arrives is not celebrated as just a day. Similarly, Easter after the anticipation of Lent, is not celebrated as a single day either. Easter, which marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, is the reason we are Christians and as a result, Easter is celebrated as a season, lasting from Easter Sunday until the celebration of Pentecost. Jesus Christ rising from the dead cannot be contained within the celebration of a single day, and, "He is risen" should be the anthem of every Christian as we celebrate through Word and Sacrament, the risen Lord.

During the austere but hope fully joyful season of Lent, our goal was to unite ourselves to Jesus as He prepared Himself to offer the great sacrifice of His life on the cross. He fasted and prayed, He steeled Himself for the strength He needed in His humanity to win salvation through His divinity. By our own prayer, our goal was to connect with Jesus’ prayer to God the Father and by our fasting we abstained from certain parts of our earthly life so that we might in some small way connect to the total fasting by our Lord in the desert. Our almsgiving, the sacrifice of our time, money or talent, mirrors in some pale vision the great sacrifice of Jesus Himself offered for our sake, but in all of this, it wasn’t done for just the day of Ash Wednesday or Good Friday, but throughout the season of Lent. Naturally, the celebration of Easter needs to be accomplished through a thorough celebration, focusing on the great gift of salvation won for us by the suffering prayer and sacrifice of our Savior, but appreciated in glory of His resurrection.

Where ever you are, if you recognize the glory of Easter, then you are called to celebrate that Jesus is risen from the dead. Not just for a day, but for a season. And really, not just for a season, but for a life time, because Jesus has resurrected and won for us eternal life, and how can we as Christians ever really stop celebrating the greatest gift of all time.

Fr. John Gracey