Easter in the Domestic Church

Here in the Northeast, it seems like the whole world is rejoicing. Warm weather came with the Resurrection. The snows receded, the sun came out, and crocuses popped out of the warm soil. Spring is here – the earth buds forth to greet its Savior.

At church, lilies are everywhere and the choir punctures its chant with Alleluias. Last week the confession lines were long. We brought our baskets on the Easter Vigil to be blessed. It’s a tradition from my childhood that I’ve brought with me to my new, northeastern parish. Back in my hometown, the high percentage of Eastern Europeans keeps the traditional blessing of the Easter food present in most parishes. But it’s less common in New England. Fortunately, my priest is happy to bless my food, and friends are jumping on the bandwagon.

I remember my childhood Easters vividly – new dresses, the blessing of food, hardboiled eggs, my grandmother’s pasca (Easter bread), the smell of kielbasa roasting in big pans in the oven, and egg hunts all around my grandparent’s small backyard. We combined traditions and made new ones – but the effect was always vividly sacramental. Something overwhelmingly joyful was afoot – Christ has risen from the dead and by His death He has trampled upon death! Even those of us unacquainted with death were delighted.

The Richness of the Season

“We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song,” writes John Paul II to a Church trying to find its way after a host of changes in the world and in the liturgy. Easter is a season of abundance. In the Proclamation during the Easter Vigil, the cantor rejoices in the “happy fault…which gains for us so great a Redeemer.”

Easter is the Feast of Feasts. It is the highlight of the Christian year. In our homes and daily lives, we’re called to celebrate this feast with enthusiasm. That’s why so much of our traditional Easter foods are so rich. Babka cakes with anywhere from 8–24 eggs in them, breads stuffed with butter, meat, cheese, eggs, and spices. Meats like lamb and ham rich in symbolism and sacrifice. If we’ve participated fully in the fasts of Lent, then the feasts of Easter feel even more fitting – we’ve mourned with Christ, and now we rise with Him, casting off our sad garments and entering the feast with joy.

So, how can we bring the joy of this season into our homes and families?

Feast!

Beyond Easter Sunday, draw the spirit of feasting into the whole season. I invite my family to give me one or two specific requests for Easter Week – foods they’re longing to have again after the long fast. This year, pepperoni pizza, a pavlova, and cranberry chicken salad were among the Bright Week requests.

Feasting doesn’t have to mean overdoing it either. Focus on quality and festal foods that really bring home the joy of the season. Since we practice a Byzantine fast, we don’t need sugar to feel indulgent – a gin fizz, roast chicken, or even a grilled cheese sandwich are enough to remind us that Christ is risen.

Feast especially in the foods you’ve given up during Lent. This is one reason to avoid “fasting” from “unkind words” or anything like that – no one wants a feast of meanness! Small things can extend the festal tone throughout the season – even if meals themselves get simpler. Nice napkins, fresh flowers, and a casual dessert after dinner can make even simple meals feel special.

Pray!

Prayer is one of the pillars of Lent, of course, but it’s also a pillar of Easter. If you regularly pray the Angelus, it’s time to switch to the Regina Caeli. If you haven’t been praying the Angelus, give the Regina Caeli a try this Easter! It’s a great way to punctuate the day and turn your mind back to Christ at noon (and 6 am and 6 pm too, if you want!).

The Easter season is one of celebratory prayer and gratitude. On the Sunday after Easter, we have the opportunity to celebrate again the gift of God’s Mercy with Divine Mercy Sunday. The Divine Mercy chaplet is a fantastic devotion for the whole Easter season – in it we entrust ourselves and the whole world to the abundant mercy of God.

In our own family, along with these consistent prayers, we like to include devotions to the Sacred Heart, the Virgin of the Three Hands, and of course, our much-loved Infant of Prague. All of which are devotions where the mercy and tenderness of God is made even more visible to us.

Share!

Hospitality – like the Lenten practice of almsgiving is one of the joys of the Easter season. When your heart is full of the joy of the Resurrection and your table is full of blessed foods, it’s impossible to keep it all to yourself.

Don’t let your generosity end at Easter. Remember that, for some people, Easter abundance is purely spiritual, or even an as yet unlooked for blessing. There are so many ways to share your abundance in this season – whether through supporting a family through a rough season, inviting a single friend to share your celebration, reaching out to a family member you’ve been at odds with for years, or just offering up your prayers for the unprayed for souls in Purgatory – let your celebration of Christ’s Resurrection be one that invites others into the joy of the Gospel.

The Culmination of the Fast

At Easter, all of our Lenten devotions are bathed in light. We’ve spent 40 days in the wilderness with Our Lord – fasting and praying. Now, He invites us to celebrate with Him. It’s a joy to me as I watch that rich thread of vivid sacramentality weave the Easters of my childhood into the Easters my children know.

They still have kielbasa, pasca, and blessed baskets of feasting foods. They have the tender hospitality of their grandparents – whether near or far. My children dress up for the Vigil Mass and listen to their father chant in the choir, while I listened to my mother sing. Traditions vary a bit, but the threads of feasting, prayer, and hospitality remain – strengthening as they knit each new generation to the ones who have gone before.

Blessed Easter. Christ is Risen!