The Church has officially entered Eastertide. It is such a joyful experience to sing Alleluia in full voice at the Gospel. Our Lord has conquered death and a new Spring of hope has dawned. Here are some beautiful quotes for you to meditate on to increase your Easter Joy. Never forget. "we are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song." (St. John Paul II)

Now therefore, brethren, we urge you to praise God. That is what we are all telling each other when we say Alleluia. You say to your neighbor, “Praise the Lord!” and he says the same to you. We are all urging one another to praise the Lord, and all thereby doing what each of us urges the other to do. But see that your praise comes from your whole being; in other words, see that you praise God not with your lips and voices alone, but with your minds, your lives and all your actions. (St. Augustine)

In his Exposition of the Psalms, St. Augustine describes the joy that we enter into with Easter. If we allow it, this joy can overflow and sweeten every aspect of our lives so that everyone we encounter is overcome by the light we bear. There is not a single form of human suffering that Christ was protected from on this journey to Calvary. His rising from the dead is the promise that nothing is impossible--that suffering and pain are real indeed, but that victory is our destiny. Remembering that we carry the joy and courage of Easter with us not just in our churches or homes, but everywhere we go can help us persevere in the midst of suffering and strengthen others in their suffering too. 

If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their due reward; If any have come after the third hour, let him with gratitude join in the Feast! And he that arrived after the sixth hour, let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss. And if any delayed until the ninth hour, let him not hesitate; but let him come too. And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his delay. For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him that toiled from the first. (St. John Crysostom)

This excerpt from St. John Crysostom's Easter Homily proclaims the breadth of our God's mercy on His people. Some of us may reflect on our Lent and feel that we could have kept the Fast more faithfully. Some of us may feel that we are not called to the feast. Let us not make the mistake of forgetting our inheritantance. We have been restored as sons and daughters of God, He has chosen us. Let us accept with joy and humility that Our Lord's mercy is abundant and let us enter into the feast with great faith that our sins and our delay cannot overwhelm the grace that God wishes to shower upon us. 

Faith in the resurrection of Jesus says that there is a future for every human being; the cry for unending life which is a part of the person is indeed answered… God exists: that is the real message of Easter. Anyone who even begins to grasp what this means also knows what it means to be redeemed. (Pope Benedict XVI)

The joy and hope of Easter are born of Christ's victory over the many and vast fears of the human heart--fears of suffering, humiliation, weakness, and death. But perhaps the greatest fear of the human heart is spiritual death. Perhaps our greatest fear is that we do suffer, we are weak, and we are humiliated by our own weakness--that we are unworthy and that death is a fitting end for us, though we dread it. Pope Benedict points out that redemption is the great source of Easter joy and hope. The Resurrection is a testimony to the transcendance of God over humanity and human fears. It gives us faith that we can be lifted up out of our misery to a new height of eternal life--unworthy though we are. 

The Lord’s triumph, on the day of the Resurrection, is final. Where are the soldiers the rulers posted there? Where are the seals that were fixed to the stone of the tomb? Where are those who condemned the Master? Where are those who crucified Jesus? He is victorious, and faced with his victory those poor wretches have all taken flight. Be filled with hope: Jesus Christ is always victorious. (St. Josemarie Escriva, The Forge, 660) 

We know our own weakness intimately. We may fear that as intimately as we know our own weakness, yet it expands even beyond our knowledge. In His infinite wisdom, God demonstrated His strength through allowing Himself to be brought so low as to even receive our miserable pity. The Cross, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is a song of salvation for any who are seeking relief. Hand yourself over to Our Lord today and join in this song full-voice.