Catholic Prayer Club
… a Worldwide Apostolate
Easter 2008 A.D.
THE EASTER SEASON
By Laura Macy
Easter, Pascha, or
Resurrection Day is the most important religious feast in the Christian
liturgical year. It celebrates the
resurrection of Jesus, which we as Christians believe occurred on the third day
after his crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33.
Easter is also called Eastertide or the Easter
Season. Traditionally, the Easter Season
lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day, but now
officially lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known
as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter.
Easter
is a moveable Christian holy day because it is not fixed in relation to the
civil calendar. Easter falls at some
point between late March and late April each year (in the
Easter
is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism but also
for its position in the calendar. The
Last Supper shared by Jesus and his disciples before his crucifixion is
generally thought of as a Passover meal, based on the chronology in the
Gospels.
In
Western Christianity, Easter marks the end of the forty days of Lent, a period
of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter which begins on Ash
Wednesday. The week before Easter is
commonly known as “Holy Week”. The Sunday
before Easter is Palm Sunday and the last three days before Easter are Maundy
or Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. They are sometimes referred to
as the Easter Triduum (Latin for three days).
THE TRADITIONS OF EASTER
As
with almost all “Christian” holidays, Easter has been secularized and
commercialized. Since its conception as
a holy celebration in the second century, Easter has had its non-religious
side. In fact, Easter was originally a
pagan festival.
The
ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival
commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, EASTRE. When the second century Christian
missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations,
they attempted to convert them to Christianity.
They did so, however, in a clandestine manner. To save lives (the missionaries’), the
missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly
throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan
feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.
As
it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as
the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. So, the festival itself was altered to make
it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually
changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
The Easter Bunny
The
Easter Bunny is not a modern invention.
The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the
Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The
Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to
The Easter Egg
As
with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the
Christian holiday of Easter. The
exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when
Easter was first celebrated by Christians.
From
the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf, or, if
you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves of petals
of certain flowers.
THE CHRISTIAN ORIGINS OF
EASTER
The
timing of the Christian celebration of Easter is linked to the Jewish
celebration of the Passover. Passover
and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were observed by the ancient
Israelites early in each new year. The name “Passover” was derived from the
actions of the angel of death as described in the book of Exodus. The angel “passed over” the homes of the Jews
which were marked with the blood obtained from a ritual animal sacrifice. The same angel exterminated the first born of
every family whose doorway was not so marked.
Victimized were first born sons as well as the first born of
domesticated animals.
Liberal
theologians trace Passover to an ancient pre-Israelite Pagan ritual
practiced by wandering Semitic shepherds.
The Feast of the Unleavened Bread was originally a traditional
Canaanite agricultural harvest which was adopted by the Israelites. It marked the start of the barley harvest;
barley was the first crop to ripen.
Because they occurred at about the same time each year, the two
celebrations became merged into a two day observance. The Passover became associated with the
exodus of the Jews from
Conservative
theologians generally believe that the original Passover was established by God
as described in Exodus 5, and that the annual Passover observances were created
as “appointed feasts” established by God as described in Leviticus
23:5-14. Both were recorded by Moses.
Passover
was the most important feast of the Jewish calendar, celebrated at the first
full moon after the Vernal Equinox. (The
Equinox typically occurs on March 20, 21 or 22 according to our present
calendar.) The Gospels differ on the
date of Jesus’ execution:
The
Synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke) state that Jesus’ last supper
was a Seder – a Passover celebration at the start of 15th
Nisan (seventh month
of a civil year or the first of an
ecclesiastical year in the Jewish Calendar), just
after sundown. (Jewish days begin at sundown and continue
until the next sundown) Jesus was
executed later that day and died about 3 P.M.
The
gospel of John states that the last supper at the beginning of the 14th
Nisan,
Jesus is recorded as having died on the afternoon of the 14th Nisan.
Most
theologians reject John’s timing. They
assume that John chose a false date for symbolic reasons. He made Jesus’ execution synchronize with the
sacrifice of the Pascal lamb in the
It
is widely believed that Jesus was executed and buried just before the beginning
of Passover on Friday evening. Let
us pray as we wait for His glorious resurrection.
ODDS and Ends
v
Easter is an excellent time to spend a
few minutes quietly with the Lord each day.
v
During this season of renewal might
there be some negative habit that we can change that would bring light into a
dark corner of our heart.
v
Also let us remember those that are in
need emotionally as well as physically.
The
CPC Prayer Intention for This Month
That the joy of the risen Christ will foster peace and goodwill
among all of humankind regardless of their religious or cultural heritage. Lord, hear our prayer….
Are you looking for a way to draw closer to Christ this year?
Why
not start a prayer group in your home area?
Details are available on the next page……
You can help us spread the good word of our Lord…by becoming a CPC
Prayer Ministry Leader in your home area.
As a CPC Prayer
Minister (PM) you will form and lead a small Home Based Prayer Community (HBPC)
in your hometown.
It’s easy to
get started. All you need to do is invite several friends, co-workers or family
members to join your HBPC. Local communities are generally comprised of from 3
to 15 members who gather in community every other week to pray, reflect and
share our faith. The Catholic Prayer Club will provide you with all of the
materials you need to form organize and lead your ministry and Home Based
Prayer Community.
So if you feel
called to a ministry in the service of the Lord, please contact Steve Macy or
Aurora Ragaza Co-Stewards of The Catholic Prayer Club at
The
Catholic Prayer Club®On the Worldwide Web www.catholicprayerclub.org
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