April 23, 2006

Even the weather was liturgical this year: overcast and raining on Good Friday and brilliant on Easter Day. Easter is not a Rite of Spring, in spite of sentimental secularist attempts to reduce it to one, and the vernal advent does not touch the Easter celebrations south of the Equator, but these incidental tributes of nature are kinds of meteorological sacramentals, if you will, and remind us of how the sky wept at the Crucifixion to the fright of the people and, we may assume, it shone fairly to the joy of Mary and the Church at the Resurrection.

In the Triduum, beginning with Holy Thursday, we happily ran out of space for worshippers. I do not remember when we had so many confessions. On Good Friday, although there was a closed-circuit television in the Undercroft, many stood out on the street, and this continued for the Three Hours devotion and the Liturgy of the Passion. There was profound reverence at the Easter liturgies and a deep sense of joy for all those being received into the Church. The phenomenon of so many people coming here and sharing in the Rites must cause us to reflect on the ever-increasing responsibility we have as a parish to respond to visitors and those seeking the Faith here. It is gratifying to receive messages from people who remark that they have never been so moved by the Liturgy as they have found it here. Good souls must say the same of other places, but it is astonishing to me that we get so many comments like that, considering that we simply follow the rubrical norms. Perhaps that explains it. Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly regretted that the faithful in many places are not shown the teaching and worship of the Church to which they are entitled by baptism. It is a consolation that they are happily surprised when they find it. Our parish, and all parishes, should use this season of Resurrection to think about how we can build upon what has already begun.

Sunday, April 23, is Divine Mercy Sunday, an occasion in the Easter season to give thanks for the gratuitous love of Christ who bought our salvation at so great a price. It is also the feast, albeit replaced because of Sunday, of St. George, who is elegantly honored by one of our new icons. Ask the intercession of this glorious "Megamartyr" and patron of soldiers for our troops engaged in war, especially those of our parish in Iraq, including Brian Murphy, currently serving with the 10th U.S. Cavalry, and Peter Carey of West Point, who re-enlisted. They offer themselves for us and ask only our prayers for them.

Christos voskrese, as the Russians say. Christos anesti, as the Greeks say. Christus resurrexit, as we say. Let earth and heaven be joyful.

Fr. George W. Rutler