Carlos J. Gallardo, priest, offers Exaudi readers this article entitled “Easter: Mystery of Freedom,” in which he explains the meaning of this liturgical season.

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With the solemn celebration of the Easter Vigil, we begin the Easter season, where the Church celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Our Lord. If the mystery of the Incarnation changed the course of history, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fullness of this mystery. But why is it called “Easter“?

The word “Easter” means “passage” and goes back to the experience of liberation of the people of Israel. In the Book of Exodus, we find the account of how the chosen people were freed from the slavery to which they were subjected by the Egyptians (Ex 12:1-14). After cooking and eating the unblemished animal, a year-old male will take its blood and sprinkle the two doorposts and the lintel of the door as a sign that they are part of the chosen people God wants to free. When the Lord “passes by,” he will not harm those he finds marked with the blood of the Lamb.

In Christ, we encounter the Lamb of God (Jn 1:36), who wants to take away the sin of the world, which is the true slavery of humanity. He offers himself, “taking upon himself” the world’s sins. Thus, the metaphor of the sacrificed lamb, which was the way of erasing sins in the Hebrew liturgy, takes on a new meaning. In Christ, we find its true meaning. It is his blood that cleanses and purifies us; it is his passion that redeems us; it is his “passage” of love through our lives that transforms us.

When we celebrate Easter, we celebrate the mystery of the freedom that Jesus Christ the Lord brings us, for “by dying, he destroyed our death, and by rising, he restored life” (Preface I of Easter). Christ conquers death and sin with his sacrifice for love. The cross is victory, and victory is experienced in the resurrection. The flesh of sin is redeemed and saved, because his very flesh is resurrected and lives forever.

The human Heart of Christ, which was pierced, now lives and continues to beat with love for each one of us. In Him, alive and risen, we find our freedom, we taste true life, the life that matters, life with Him.

The resurrection was the great joy for those who loved Jesus. Let us think of Mary, his Mother, the apostles, his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, Mary Magdalene… What an encounter with Him, it would be like! To see him again and also to be able to see him with new eyes that have experienced forgiveness and peace, his forgiveness and peace.

But it must also be joy for all of us. With Christ alive, all sorrow is over. Sin and death no longer have the last word over us. There is hope because we have been freed from the power of evil, snatched from the dominion of darkness, for “through Him the children of light dawn to eternal life, and the gates of the kingdom of heaven are opened to the faithful” (Preface II of Easter).

We, too, can see Him with new eyes, because we feel forgiven and loved by the living and risen Christ. Our lives change if we allow ourselves to be touched by His new life, by the life that the Risen One spreads.

The Easter liturgy, especially in the celebration of the great Easter Vigil, contains three prominent signs that can help us fully live this mystery of liberation and life: light, fire, and water.

Light

Easter is the great feast of light. The power of light conquers the darkness of night. The power of the light of the risen Christ conquers the darkness of sin. In this Easter season, we can strive to be light in our surroundings. Light with our actions, attitudes, joy… we can be “Easter light” and a witness to the joy of the Risen Lord for all those around us.

The Fire

The Easter Vigil begins with a fire lit at the door of the temple. From that fire, light is drawn for the Paschal candle. Fire has the property of giving warmth, of kindling, of purifying. In this Easter season, we must allow the fire of God’s love to purify our sins. May the fire of his love ignite us with true charity to love as Christ loves, with the same sentiments as his Heart. Let us live with our hearts aflame in union with the Lord through daily prayer so that we may be warmth that breaks the cold of sin and the indifference that surrounds us.

Water

On the holy night of Easter, the water with which new Christians will be baptized is blessed, water that we all also receive in remembrance of our baptism. Clean water, life-giving water, and water quenches thirst. Our world is dying of thirst. Of thirst for love, of thirst for true joy. We are looking for substitutes for living water that leave our hearts much drier. Let us drink of his Living Water! And at the same time, let us be the water of Christ that quenches the thirst of all who live with us.

Let us unite ourselves to the mystery of the Risen One; let us rejoice with and in the Risen One! And at the same time, let us Christians be transmitters of his joy. Let us not cease to wish everyone a happy Easter and to shout with words and deeds that Christ lives and wants us to be alive in Him!

Happy Easter!