The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-04-15
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EASTER.

Easter Is, IN very truth, the feast
of feasts" of the Christian year, the
greatest day in the calendar of festi-
walls of the Catholic Church. It COM
memorates the most important event
in the earthly career of our Redeemer
His resurrection from the dead by
His own inherent power This is the
day which the Lord hath made" be-
cause it proclaims from age to age the
glories of His triumph over sin, and
over the worlds blind opposition to
His kingdom and His sovereignty. 1t
marks the dawn of a new life of
humanity, the inception of brighter
era in the history of Gods dealings
with His creatures.
The celebration of Easter carries us
back to the earliest days of Christian
ity. From the beginning of her exist
ence the Catholic Church has been
mindful of all that this feast signifies.
She regards the miracle of the Resur-
rection as the ground work upon
which is built the superstructure of
her doctrines and practices, the
guarantee that her faith is not based
ION the wisdom of men, but on the
power of God" and the pledge of her
divine right to teach mankind the
eternal truths committed to her
charge.
The Resurrection is the final and IT.
REPUTABLE proof of the divine character
and mission of Jesus Christ, the Savior
of humanity. It demonstrates, as no
other event in His earthly career can,
that He was what He claimed to be,
the Son of God AS we read the Cos
pei narrative of His life and labors
during the three years of His public
ministry we realize that He performed
many marvellous deeds-the blind see,
the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the
leper is cleansed. the dead raised to
life. At the close of His life He set
the seal of finality on His labors and
teaching by raising Himself from the
dead in accordance with a promise
previously made to his Disciples. Had
He failed in this there might be some
reason to regard His claims as spuri-
Gus; but, granting, as all must grant,
she reality of the resurrection there
can be no reason for a doubt regard
ing His descent from heaven. 1t is
not going beyond the limits of pos
sibility to declare that all the other
works of Christ might have been per
formed by some good and sanity
ambassador sent by God to reveal to
men the truths with which He wished
to enrich them. But when we behold
the sealing of the sepu1chre enclosing
the body of the Crucified and the
stationing of a sleepless Roman guard
around it, we know that He Who
comes forth from that tomb of death
must not be less than God. Christ by
His own power burst asunder the
bonds of dissolution and by His up
rising from the grave proved that He
was the Son of God.
This proof of the divinity of Christ
gave new hope and courage to His
followers and especially to His chosen
Apostles. destined to carry on His
mission among men, At His bidding
they went forth and preached "Christ
and Him crucifed"; they made
known to the whole world the divine
message of salvation; and for the
sake of their Master they shed their
blood in attestation of the truth of
their teaching. The whole world was
made the beneficiary of the savior's
love for suffering humanity. The
Church which He established became
the medium through which the gospel
was preached to mankind; and for
nearly two thousand years she has
borne witness to the abiding presence
of her Founder within her bosom. She
has been the mouthpiece and repre-
sentative of the risen Savior during all
the years of her existence; and she
will continue to proclaim His divine
character until the end of time.
Not without reason, therefore, does
the Church of God rejoice at Easter,
tide. The dominant note of her liturgy
is joy-profound, unalloyed, soul-satis-
flying. Her great heart is filled with a
spiritual exaltation which manifests
itself in alleluias of praise and prayer.
How marked, how significant, the
contrast between the gladness Of
Easter and the gloom of Lent! It is
symbolic Of the difference between
the glorifed body of the risen Lord
and the agonizing. form of the dying
Savior. 1t signifies that death is
swallowed up in victory" that the
corruptible has put on interruption
and the mortal, Immortality.
1t would be strange, indeed, il
Easter did not evoke unusual rejoicing
on the part of the Church and hel
followers. Does not st. Paul assure
us that Christ's resurrection is the
pledge that in Him 'all shall be made
alive that his triumphant uprising
from the tomb on Easter morning
draws with it, as necessary conse
quence, our resurrection from thu
dead? And, furthermore, is not this
victory over death and dissolution tht