This is the Day the Lord has Made
Easter Sunday, April 20th, 2025
For the past 40 days, we have journeyed through the season of Lent with Jesus as he made his way to Jerusalem to offer his life for our salvation. The opening prayer for Mass today sums this up very well – “O God, who on this day, through your Only Begotten Son, have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity, grant, we pray, that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit, rise up in the light of life”.
During Lent, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we have sought to turn away from sin, grow closer to Jesus, to be more closely united to Him, and to choose the life that he offers. Today is the day of the resurrection, where death is conquered, and eternal life is offered to all. It is truly the “day that the Lord has made”.
As we begin to journey through these days of the Easter Season, we will discover anew the incredible transformation of the disciples once they encountered the risen Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit. The are utterly changed, they are never the same again. And we want this for ourselves as well. Do we want to return to our former ways? Do we want to go back to how we were before this Lenten season began? And how will we ensure that the changes that God has done in us during this season continue for the rest of our life, like those first disciples?
One way to keep these changes alive might be to begin to treat every Sunday like Easter Sunday. Sunday is truly the Lord’s Day, but how often is it just another day? We do our duty by going to Mass and then carry on as if it is just another day. What if, in the coming year, we try to live every Sunday as Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection? As we do this, it might help us to remember always what God has done for us, in Christ Jesus, through his death and resurrection.
As we seek to live this, we can make the words of St Paul to the Colossians (3:1-4), that we heard today in Mass, our own – we “have been brought back to true life with Christ”, may we always “ look for the things that are in heaven” keeping our “thoughts be on heavenly things”.
May an encounter with the Risen Christ truly transform us as it did with those first apostles 2000 years ago. “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad”.
By Matt O'Connell
Christchurch Diocese Pastoral Team
