22 April 2025
Alleluia, Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed, alleluia!
I want to express my gratitude for the dedication and hard work of so many people that made this recent Holy Week a deeply religious celebration. Thanks are due to the acolytes, servers, ushers, musicians, worship guilds, and hospitality ministers. I hope that everyone’s faith was enriched by the liturgies we enacted together in honor of our Lord’s death and resurrection.
Easter is a season of fifty days, ending with the Feast of Pentecost. For the first eight days of Easter, we have the Easter Octave, and on the fortieth day, which is always a Thursday, we celebrate the Ascension. Within this joyful season we also have the Patronal Feast of Saint Mark, which this year we will observe on Wednesday, April 30, as well as the Feast of Saints Damien and Marianne on Saturday, May 10. Whereas Lent was an entire season of discipline and self-denial, even the Fridays of Eastertide are not observed with discipline and self-denial.
At St. Mark’s we still follow the pre-Vatican II practice of observing a number of octaves for feasts such as Corpus Christi, the Assumption, and Pentecost Day. However, since Vatican II there is officially only one octave in the calendar, and that is for Easter Day. How fitting it was that Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, the second day of the Octave of Easter. As the tributes of the world abundantly rise, it is clear that Francis’ pontificate breathed resurrection into the universal Church due to his faithful proclamation of Christ’s peace, as well as his love for the vulnerable, poor, and dispossessed. Francis was a dear friend of Anglicans too, and we continue to pray for the unity of the Church for which Jesus himself prayed.
As I said in the homily at the High Mass on Easter Day, even though Easter is a celebratory season of fifty days, it is more than a liturgical season - it is our way of life as Christians. As Christians our purpose is to proclaim endlessly the triumph of our God over death. We are the people of the resurrection, and our song is alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Easter blessings to you and your loved ones,
Father Paul Lillie +
