“We are Easter People and Alleluia is our Song” St Augustine
Recently I was at my sister’s 70th birthday celebration, which was held at a popular venue on the outskirts of Mudgee. A sense of joy pervaded the air as family and friends gathered to mark a new decade in the life of mother, sister and friend. A special memory I will hold in my heart is the sheer delight that shone forth from my sister’s face, as her five little grandchildren, with bright sparkling eyes gathered around her, for the cutting of the cake.
Reflecting on the above, I wondered how one could ever comprehend the joy that Mary experienced at the resurrection of her beloved Son.
In her book, The Human Life of Jesus, Mary Potter states “We know not of His meeting with his Mother, and we feel not so inclined to imagine what Scripture has not revealed to us. The meeting with the Magdalen is what touches us most in our Lord’s Resurrection.” – (The Human Life of Jesus, pg 176).
“We live in the immortality of the Resurrection; and
with a sigh of relief, we say to ourselves, Jesus’
suffering is over. It should be a fresh joy to us each day.”
(The Human Life of Jesus, pg 175).
Pope John Paul reflected on Easter joy during his Angelus address in Adelaide, November 30,1986.
“In a true sense, joy is the keynote of the Christian message.
We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery, the mystery of his death and Resurrection.
We are Easter People and Alleluia is our song.
We are not looking for a shallow joy, but rather a joy that comes from faith, that grows through unselfish love, that respects the fundamental duty of love of neighbour, without which it would be unbecoming to speak of Joy. We realize that joy is demanding; it demands unselfishness; it demands a readiness to say with Mary: “Be it done to me according to thy word.’’