Alleluia! He is Risen!

He is not here, He is risen. Behold the place where they laid Him. Mark 16:6

Happy Easter! My family and I had the privilege to attend the Easter Vigil Mass last night in the Extraordinary Form (traditional Latin rite). It was beautiful! The priest read a short oration from St. Gregory the Theologian, which began:

Yesterday, I was crucified with Him; today, I am glorified with Him.

Yesterday, I died with Him; today, I am made alive in Him.

Yesterday, I was buried with Him; today I am raised up with Him.

St. Gregory goes on to say that we should offer to God the possession that is most dear to Him: ourselves. That we should strive to become divine because He became man for us. Jesus died upon the Cross and is truly risen. During Lent, we strived to die to ourselves in order to die with Christ and now, during this joyous time of Easter, we have risen with Him. We cannot go back to an ordinary way of life but must walk in the light of the risen Christ.

I wish all of you a blessed and happy Easter. May the joy of this season and the light of the risen Christ be with you always.