Easter Sunday
By Rev. John Evangelist Zollner, 1884
Included traditional Easter Mass from today
"Brethren Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened. For Christ, our pasch, is sacrificed. Therefore, let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."--Epistle. (1. Cor. 5: 7-8.)
The Apostles had a
great desire to keep the pasch with Christ, their divine Master. They
therefore came to Him, saying: "Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee
to eat the pasch."--Matt. 26: 17. And Christ having appointed the
place, they joyfully went and prepared the pasch and ate it with Him. It
always has been so. From the very beginning of Christianity Easter has
been for all faithful disciples of the Lord, for all good Christians,
the most beautiful and joyous time, and to keep Easter was a necessity
of their hearts. Therefore the Apostle says in the epistle of this day:
"Let us feast." And as it is not enough merely to keep Easter, but all
depends on our keeping it in the right way, the Apostle tells us how we
are to keep it.
Let us meditate on the contents of the epistle for this day, and answer the two following questions:
I. Why are we to keep Easter? Let us meditate on the contents of the epistle for this day, and answer the two following questions:
II. How are we to keep Easter?
Part I.
We keep Easter on account of Christ, who, as the Apostle says in the epistle, was immolated as our pasch.
1. The pasch which the Jews celebrated in the Old Law referred to our pasch.
(a.) You know that God inflicted great plagues upon Pharao and all Egypt, to compel him to let the Israelites go out of the country. The last of these plagues was that all the first-born males of men and beasts were killed in one night by the angel of God. But the Israelites, who, at the command of God, killed a lamb, and with its blood sprinkled the lintels and door-posts of their houses, were spared from this terrible calamity; the angel, seeing the posts and lintels sprinkled with the blood of the lamb, passed by their houses. The lamb was to be broiled and eaten by the Jews, and on account of their speedy departure, in a standing posture, with their shoes on their feet, their loins girt, and a staff in their hands. In memory of these events, they were obliged to celebrate the pasch every year in the same way as they had celebrated it immediately before their departure from Egypt. The feast of the pasch began on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, which corresponds to the second half of the month of March and the first half of April, and lasted seven days.
2. Our Christian Easter was prefigured by the Jewish pasch, for, as the Jews celebrated their pasch in remembrance of their deliverance out of the servitude of Egypt, so we celebrate our Easter in memory of our liberation from the slavery of sin and Satan, for Easter is the time in which Christ accomplished the work of our Redemption. The principal part of the celebration of the Jewish pasch consisted in this, that every family was obliged to kill and eat a lamb. This paschal lamb was a type of our Easter Lamb, Jesus Christ, who has been immolated for us. The paschal lamb of the Jews was to be without blemish; Jesus Christ is without spot or sin, "for it was fitting that we should have such a high-priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."--Heb.7. 26. The lamb was to be slaughtered; Christ was slaughtered on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Not a bone of the lamb should be broken; not a bone of the crucified Saviour was broken, as was usually done with those who were crucified. The blood of the lamb with which the Israelites sprinkled the door-posts, caused the angel not to enter their houses, but to pass by, sparing them; so the blood of Christ is the price of our Redemption and of our rescue from eternal death. The Jews were to eat the slaughtered and broiled lamb; we also receive Christ, the Lamb immolated on the cross, in holy communion. The uncircumcised and strangers were not allowed to participate in eating the paschal lamb, but only the Jews, and of them only those who were legally clean; so also only the faithful who are free from every grievous sin are allowed to approach the table of the Lord.
3. The Easter which we keep every year refers to our Paschal Lamb, Christ, who was immolated.
(a.) Easter is the time in which Christ, the Lamb of God, offered Himself for us on the cross. Could we let this time pass by without calling to mind this great sacrifice of our Redemption, and without thanking our Redeemer for the superabundant love with which he went for us unto sufferings and death? What kind of Christians must we be if we do not celebrate this sacrifice of love every year at least with a grateful remembrance?
(b.) Easter is the time of his glorious Resurrection. Our dear Lord had appeared upon earth in the greatest poverty and lowliness; His whole life, here below was nothing but an unbroken chain of tribulations, persecutions, and sufferings; and at last He died the most ignominious and painful death on the cross. But how was everything changed after His Resurrection: His humiliation was transformed into exaltation, His contumely into glory; His suffering into heavenly beatitude; and His death into life everlasting. Because "He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, God also hath exalted him, and hath given Him a name which is above every name: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and in hell. And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father."--Phil. 2. 9-11.
c.) Easter is the time in which the divine Lord accomplished the work of our Redemption. If the Jews celebrated their pasch every year in grateful remembrance of their deliverance from their slavery in Egypt, how much more reason have we for the celebration of our Easter, since Jesus Christ freed us from the worst kind of slavery that can be imagined, from the slavery of sin and Satan, blotted out our guilt, reconciled us with our Creator, and made us children of God and heirs of heaven. How could we, if we contemplate only superficially the unspeakable grace of our Redemption, allow Easter to pass by without celebrating it with an equally thankful and joyous heart?
(d) Easter, finally, is the time in which we are reminded of our own resurrection. "By a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead; and as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive."-- 1 Cor. 15: 21, 22. Christ merited the grace for us, that we shall once, like Him, come forth from the grave with glorified bodies, and with body and soul enjoy the everlasting felicity of heaven.
Part II.
1. The pasch which the Jews celebrated in the Old Law referred to our pasch.
(a.) You know that God inflicted great plagues upon Pharao and all Egypt, to compel him to let the Israelites go out of the country. The last of these plagues was that all the first-born males of men and beasts were killed in one night by the angel of God. But the Israelites, who, at the command of God, killed a lamb, and with its blood sprinkled the lintels and door-posts of their houses, were spared from this terrible calamity; the angel, seeing the posts and lintels sprinkled with the blood of the lamb, passed by their houses. The lamb was to be broiled and eaten by the Jews, and on account of their speedy departure, in a standing posture, with their shoes on their feet, their loins girt, and a staff in their hands. In memory of these events, they were obliged to celebrate the pasch every year in the same way as they had celebrated it immediately before their departure from Egypt. The feast of the pasch began on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, which corresponds to the second half of the month of March and the first half of April, and lasted seven days.
2. Our Christian Easter was prefigured by the Jewish pasch, for, as the Jews celebrated their pasch in remembrance of their deliverance out of the servitude of Egypt, so we celebrate our Easter in memory of our liberation from the slavery of sin and Satan, for Easter is the time in which Christ accomplished the work of our Redemption. The principal part of the celebration of the Jewish pasch consisted in this, that every family was obliged to kill and eat a lamb. This paschal lamb was a type of our Easter Lamb, Jesus Christ, who has been immolated for us. The paschal lamb of the Jews was to be without blemish; Jesus Christ is without spot or sin, "for it was fitting that we should have such a high-priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."--Heb.7. 26. The lamb was to be slaughtered; Christ was slaughtered on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Not a bone of the lamb should be broken; not a bone of the crucified Saviour was broken, as was usually done with those who were crucified. The blood of the lamb with which the Israelites sprinkled the door-posts, caused the angel not to enter their houses, but to pass by, sparing them; so the blood of Christ is the price of our Redemption and of our rescue from eternal death. The Jews were to eat the slaughtered and broiled lamb; we also receive Christ, the Lamb immolated on the cross, in holy communion. The uncircumcised and strangers were not allowed to participate in eating the paschal lamb, but only the Jews, and of them only those who were legally clean; so also only the faithful who are free from every grievous sin are allowed to approach the table of the Lord.
3. The Easter which we keep every year refers to our Paschal Lamb, Christ, who was immolated.
(a.) Easter is the time in which Christ, the Lamb of God, offered Himself for us on the cross. Could we let this time pass by without calling to mind this great sacrifice of our Redemption, and without thanking our Redeemer for the superabundant love with which he went for us unto sufferings and death? What kind of Christians must we be if we do not celebrate this sacrifice of love every year at least with a grateful remembrance?
(b.) Easter is the time of his glorious Resurrection. Our dear Lord had appeared upon earth in the greatest poverty and lowliness; His whole life, here below was nothing but an unbroken chain of tribulations, persecutions, and sufferings; and at last He died the most ignominious and painful death on the cross. But how was everything changed after His Resurrection: His humiliation was transformed into exaltation, His contumely into glory; His suffering into heavenly beatitude; and His death into life everlasting. Because "He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, God also hath exalted him, and hath given Him a name which is above every name: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those that are in heaven, on earth, and in hell. And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father."--Phil. 2. 9-11.
c.) Easter is the time in which the divine Lord accomplished the work of our Redemption. If the Jews celebrated their pasch every year in grateful remembrance of their deliverance from their slavery in Egypt, how much more reason have we for the celebration of our Easter, since Jesus Christ freed us from the worst kind of slavery that can be imagined, from the slavery of sin and Satan, blotted out our guilt, reconciled us with our Creator, and made us children of God and heirs of heaven. How could we, if we contemplate only superficially the unspeakable grace of our Redemption, allow Easter to pass by without celebrating it with an equally thankful and joyous heart?
(d) Easter, finally, is the time in which we are reminded of our own resurrection. "By a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead; and as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive."-- 1 Cor. 15: 21, 22. Christ merited the grace for us, that we shall once, like Him, come forth from the grave with glorified bodies, and with body and soul enjoy the everlasting felicity of heaven.
The Apostle tells us
in the lesson of this Sunday how we are to keep Easter, exhorting us to
purge out the old leaven, that we may become a new mass, adding, by way
of explanation: "Therefore, let us feast not with the old leaven, nor
with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth.''
1 The first thing that we are obliged to do in this holy Easter time is to purge out the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness.
(a) The old leaven that is to be purged out, is sin. Sin is justly designated as a leaven, for as leaven penetrates and ferments a whole mass of flour, so sin penetrates the whole man and corrupts all the powers of soul and body. It corrupts the understanding by darkening it; the memory and the faculty of imagination by filling it with impure representations; the will by weakening it, and inclining it to evil. It corrupts the body with its senses by abusing it as an instrument for evil, and bringing upon it countless evils, sickness, pain, and finally death. It is sin that destroys all supernatural merits; for he that commits a mortal sin, immediately loses all merits for heaven which he had acquired, and can do nothing meritorious for eternal life as long as he continues in sin.
(b.) The Apostle designates the leaven as a leaven of malice and wickedness. There is always a great malice in sin, for it is a rebellion against God, the Lord of heaven and earth, a base ingratitude towards Him, our best Father and greatest benefactor, and particularly an execrable infidelity towards Jesus, our most affectionate Redeemer. There is also wickedness in sin, for he who allows himself' to be governed by it, deceives himself and others; himself, because he forms for himself a false conscience and tries to excuse his sinful life by various groundless reasons; and others, because he presents the good side, and frequently under the appearance of rectitude injures them in their temporal and eternal goods.
(c.) The Apostle, in saying that we should purge out the leaven of malice and wickedness, refers, by this expression, to the Jewish pasch. The Jews were not allowed, during the seven days of the duration of their pasch, to eat anything leavened. The transgression of this law was punished with death. "Seven days there shall not be found any leaven in your houses; he that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish out of the assembly of Israel."--Ex. 12: 19. Before the beginning of the pasch the Jews were obliged to remove all leavened bread, and to search carefully to see that there was nothing with leaven in it, and to sweep and purge, as it were, the whole house, that nothing leavened might remain. In like manner, according to the admonition of the Apostle, we remove out of our hearts everything that is sinful, so that, they become clean, like a vessel that is cleaned with all diligence. And by what means is this accomplished? That which the Church offers us in the holy Easter time, nay, imposes upon as a duty, the Sacrament of Penance. If we receive this Sacrament worthily, we shall be cleansed from all stains, according to the word of Christ: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven." There is leaven in the hearts of all. Some are infected with grievous sins. Easter, perhaps, has come and gone frequently, and yet they have not purged out the leaven of sin, They have made either no confession, or an unworthy one. Oh, that they would avail themselves of the present Easter time for a contrite and sincere confession, in order to purge the leaven of malice and wickedness out of their hearts! Others have, if not mortal, at least venial sins upon their conscience, they also must endeavor by a good confession to cleanse themselves from all faults and sins.
2. The second thing that must be done is that we become a new mass, and keep Easter with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
(a.) By the leavened bread the Apostle understands an immoral life. But purity of morals does not consist only in being free from every sin, mortal and venial, and from every voluntary inclination to sin, but also in practicing the virtues opposite to sin. When Christ calls the clean of heart blessed, those are to be understood who, on the one hand, detest from their heart and avoid every sin, and on the other hand, love and practice everything that pleases God. Purity of morals, therefore, is nothing else than Christian justice, which consists in avoiding evil and doing good. He who does no evil, but omits the good which he could and should do, does not belong to the servants of God, who have a claim to eternal beatitude; to him, on the contrary, these words apply: "Every tree that yieldeth not good fruit, shall be cut down and cast into the fire."--Matt. 3: 10. "To him who knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."--James 4: 17.
(b.) By the unleavened bread the Apostle understands true justice which stands not only before men, but also before God. Above all, the heart must be good, for if everything is not right in the heart, it is only exterior justice, mere show and delusion. The Scribes and Pharisees knew how to give their justice so captivating an appearance that they were held as saints by the people, and yet Christ declares: Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."--Matt. 5: 20. The Scribes and Pharisees were just exteriorly and before the eyes of the world, but their hearts were full of malice, such passions as ambition and pride, envy and desire of revenge, hatred and enmity, impurity and adultery, were harbored there. For this reason He compares them to whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all filthiness--Matt. 23: 27. It would be a fatal self-delusion to content yourselves with a so-called worldly honesty, without troubling yourselves about interior justice, outward justice and honesty, without the interior, is nothing but sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy. True justice, pleasing to God, requires all our actions and good works to be referred to God, and that in all things and everywhere we seek the honor and glory of God. The greatest actions and most heroic virtues when they have their foundation in ambition and pride, are worthless before God and without fruit and merit for heaven. Hence the admonition of Christ: "Take heed that you do not your justice before men, that you may be seen by them, otherwise you shall not have a reward from your Father who is in heaven."--Matt 6: 1.
1 The first thing that we are obliged to do in this holy Easter time is to purge out the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness.
(a) The old leaven that is to be purged out, is sin. Sin is justly designated as a leaven, for as leaven penetrates and ferments a whole mass of flour, so sin penetrates the whole man and corrupts all the powers of soul and body. It corrupts the understanding by darkening it; the memory and the faculty of imagination by filling it with impure representations; the will by weakening it, and inclining it to evil. It corrupts the body with its senses by abusing it as an instrument for evil, and bringing upon it countless evils, sickness, pain, and finally death. It is sin that destroys all supernatural merits; for he that commits a mortal sin, immediately loses all merits for heaven which he had acquired, and can do nothing meritorious for eternal life as long as he continues in sin.
(b.) The Apostle designates the leaven as a leaven of malice and wickedness. There is always a great malice in sin, for it is a rebellion against God, the Lord of heaven and earth, a base ingratitude towards Him, our best Father and greatest benefactor, and particularly an execrable infidelity towards Jesus, our most affectionate Redeemer. There is also wickedness in sin, for he who allows himself' to be governed by it, deceives himself and others; himself, because he forms for himself a false conscience and tries to excuse his sinful life by various groundless reasons; and others, because he presents the good side, and frequently under the appearance of rectitude injures them in their temporal and eternal goods.
(c.) The Apostle, in saying that we should purge out the leaven of malice and wickedness, refers, by this expression, to the Jewish pasch. The Jews were not allowed, during the seven days of the duration of their pasch, to eat anything leavened. The transgression of this law was punished with death. "Seven days there shall not be found any leaven in your houses; he that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish out of the assembly of Israel."--Ex. 12: 19. Before the beginning of the pasch the Jews were obliged to remove all leavened bread, and to search carefully to see that there was nothing with leaven in it, and to sweep and purge, as it were, the whole house, that nothing leavened might remain. In like manner, according to the admonition of the Apostle, we remove out of our hearts everything that is sinful, so that, they become clean, like a vessel that is cleaned with all diligence. And by what means is this accomplished? That which the Church offers us in the holy Easter time, nay, imposes upon as a duty, the Sacrament of Penance. If we receive this Sacrament worthily, we shall be cleansed from all stains, according to the word of Christ: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven." There is leaven in the hearts of all. Some are infected with grievous sins. Easter, perhaps, has come and gone frequently, and yet they have not purged out the leaven of sin, They have made either no confession, or an unworthy one. Oh, that they would avail themselves of the present Easter time for a contrite and sincere confession, in order to purge the leaven of malice and wickedness out of their hearts! Others have, if not mortal, at least venial sins upon their conscience, they also must endeavor by a good confession to cleanse themselves from all faults and sins.
2. The second thing that must be done is that we become a new mass, and keep Easter with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
(a.) By the leavened bread the Apostle understands an immoral life. But purity of morals does not consist only in being free from every sin, mortal and venial, and from every voluntary inclination to sin, but also in practicing the virtues opposite to sin. When Christ calls the clean of heart blessed, those are to be understood who, on the one hand, detest from their heart and avoid every sin, and on the other hand, love and practice everything that pleases God. Purity of morals, therefore, is nothing else than Christian justice, which consists in avoiding evil and doing good. He who does no evil, but omits the good which he could and should do, does not belong to the servants of God, who have a claim to eternal beatitude; to him, on the contrary, these words apply: "Every tree that yieldeth not good fruit, shall be cut down and cast into the fire."--Matt. 3: 10. "To him who knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."--James 4: 17.
(b.) By the unleavened bread the Apostle understands true justice which stands not only before men, but also before God. Above all, the heart must be good, for if everything is not right in the heart, it is only exterior justice, mere show and delusion. The Scribes and Pharisees knew how to give their justice so captivating an appearance that they were held as saints by the people, and yet Christ declares: Unless your justice abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."--Matt. 5: 20. The Scribes and Pharisees were just exteriorly and before the eyes of the world, but their hearts were full of malice, such passions as ambition and pride, envy and desire of revenge, hatred and enmity, impurity and adultery, were harbored there. For this reason He compares them to whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all filthiness--Matt. 23: 27. It would be a fatal self-delusion to content yourselves with a so-called worldly honesty, without troubling yourselves about interior justice, outward justice and honesty, without the interior, is nothing but sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy. True justice, pleasing to God, requires all our actions and good works to be referred to God, and that in all things and everywhere we seek the honor and glory of God. The greatest actions and most heroic virtues when they have their foundation in ambition and pride, are worthless before God and without fruit and merit for heaven. Hence the admonition of Christ: "Take heed that you do not your justice before men, that you may be seen by them, otherwise you shall not have a reward from your Father who is in heaven."--Matt 6: 1.
PERORATION
Let us then feast, not
with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened
bread of sincerity and truth. The most important business for you at
Easter must be to make a good confession, that you may cleanse
yourselves from all your sins, obtain God's grace and love, and enable
yourselves worthily to receive holy communion. After that, persevere
steadfastly in the service of God, that you may preserve the grace
obtained, and may one day be deemed worthy to celebrate Easter in
heaven. Amen.
