It’s tempting to forget about our ultimate destination. We can get caught up in our present woes and forget that there is more to life than eyes can see.
This is where the Church comes in to remind and encourage us to “run the race” to the end.
St. Augustine put this most eloquently in adiscourse on the psalms that is featured in the Church’s Office of Readings.
Because there are these two periods of time – the one that now is, beset with the trials and troubles of this life, and the other yet to come, a life of everlasting serenity and joy – we are given two liturgical seasons, one before Easter and the other after. The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer; but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing.
The Easter season is meant to be a beautiful one, full of praise and joy.
Sometimes we forget about the Easter season’s symbolism. We all need hope, and the Church gives us the Easter season to remind us of that eternal hope of Heaven.
When you are feeling down, don’t forget that this life is not the end. The joys of Heaven await us.
And today we celebrate...