The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-04-16
ECCLESIASTICAL COLUMN.
Rev. Romanus Mattingly, pastor ST. Peter
Catholic Church, Editor.
Easter SUNDAY,

l. hO cOno OfOly JCdl CClCUldI6u tL6
pasch in grateful remembrance of
their deliverance from the slavery
of Egypt, and the gracious exemp-
ton from the death of their first
born. The Jewish pasch was a
type of our Christian Easter. All
men were langulshing in the slavery
of Satan, but God had compassion
On them and sent them another
Moses-his only begotten Son, who
broke their chains and set them
free. GAL 4:5. Coming forth
from the sepulchre on Easter Sun
day, he overcame Satan, demolished
his dominion of four thousand
years duration, and purchased for
us grace, liberty and life. Who
would not rejoice on Easter Sunday
and exclaim with the apostle: o
death, where is thy sting? o grave,
where is thy victory?
That the significance of the Eas-
t&Saeast may become clearer to us,
we may consider the following:
1. The time of this Easter cele-
bration.
With regard to the time of the
celebration of Easter, two questions
are to be answered, namely: When
does 1t take place. Hon. long does 1t
last?
l. After an obstinate controversy
Of more than hundred years be-
tween the East and the West as to
the time of the celebration of Eas-
ter, the first general council of the
church, held in the year 1926 at the
city of Nice in Bithynia, decreed
that Easter should every year be
celebrated on the first Sunday fol-
lowing the full moon after the YER
nal equinox. BY the vernal cqui-
s nox, we understand that day on
which the sun crosses the equator
in spring, and which by the most
careful observation and computa-
ton, was found at the time of the
council to have fallen on the 21st of
March; hence if the full moon falls
on the 2Gst of March, and this 21st
of March is a Saturday, the next
day will }be the first Sunday after
full moon, and it will be Easter
SuG,,1ay, but suppose that the moon
would be full on the goth Of March,
this moon will not be considered
the Easter moon, but the next full
moon, twenty-nine days later, which
will be on the 18th day of April,
will be the paschal moon. Now
should this 18th day of April be
Sunday, Easter would be on the
following Sunday, or the 25th day
of April. Easter, therefore, can be
no earlier than the 22nd of March,
nor later than the 25th of April.
But though Easter may come ear
lier, or later, it always fails, at least
in our hemisphere, in the time of
spring. This time is significant
and symbolizes very beautifully the
mysteries of the Easter feast.
In winter the days are short and
only sparingly illumined by the sun
of heaven; the wind is sharp and
cold, everything is gloomy. This
sad time of winter is an eloquent
picture of the wretched condition of
mankind before this redemption.
There was no knowledge of God
any more upon earth; with the
exception of the Jews, all nations
were sunk into the most abomina-
BILE idolatry; vice and abomination
of every description prevailed. Be-
hold the gloomy winter Of the
human race! Finally Christ ap-
pears, announces his heavenly doc
trine, suffers and dies, rises from
the dead and establishes His church.
Now everything assumes a more
cheerful aspect; light arises to
men, they know how far they have
erred from the way of truth and
virtue, and converted by the preach
ing of the apostles, embrace
christianity. Behold the. spring
time of grace which came to men
through Christ the risen Redeemer!
Easter has long after celebra-
ton which strictly taken, extends
to the feast Of the Ascension of
Christ, but in wider acceptation,
to Pentecost This after celebra-
ton is nothing else than continual
echo Of the Easter joy. The church
rejolces at the triumph of her risen
Founder and Bridegroom and at
the accomplished work of our
redemption. She manifests this
Easter joy by the white color in
which she celebrates her divine
mysteries during the whole Easter
time, and by the alleluia which in
the breyiary and in the mass is
numberless times repeated.
AS angels proclaimed to the world
the nativity of Jesus Christ, so they
announced to the devout women at
the senulchre the iovful news of