The Octave of Easter at Work
It's Tuesday in the Octave of Easter. As was the case with Holy Week, my work this week isn't just "business as usual." Whereas last week the events of the Passion and Death of Our Lord laced the days activities, so this week the overwhelming joy of His Rising both undercoats and highlights each work day.
I remind myself that each day this week is another Easter. So while I'm back at my desk, I try to keep these special solemn holy days somehow present in my daily tasks. When I'm successful, every once in a while I even "feel" a kind of splash of transcendent joy amidst the mundane moments that comprise a typical day at work for me - really I do.
If you kept a somewhat serious Lent, you should too. For example, if you made some effort at special mortification and now you're "released" from the observance of one or more of those efforts, you'll notice a certain "relief" - and that relief, when fertilized by your faith, can turn to joy. To be more specific (and not to pat myself on the back or brag in any way), throughout Lent, I would wait a full 4 minutes after saying grace to eat my meals. I know, it's not a big deal, but day after day it does leave an impression, at least it does on me. It did succeed in turning my mind to Our Lord for a few minutes, and it did result in my consciously offering this tiny sacrifice in reparation for sins and for the suffering souls in Purgatory. (At least it did some of the time, when I wasn't in the rushed and distracted state of mind that sometimes infects me at work.) So now, not waiting those four minutes makes a difference and - again, really - I do experience a sense of joy which elevates my soul to a brief moment of remembrance of contemplation of the incredible events of that first Easter and the days thereafter.
If you're not sure about just how important and solemn the days of this week after Easter really are, here's a brief description from my old Pius X Missal (a missal of the Tridentine Rite):
By the way, while observing the Liturgical Year can seem a bit of a luxury, or somehow the pursuit of the obscure in our secularized, fast-paced, pressurized world, I'd encourage you to do all you can to "connect" with the Church's year as much as you can manage. Maybe today's brief remarks will motivate you if you don't already make the attempt.
So let's all keep the Octave of Easter in all it's glory and solemnity even as we go about our work this week. You'll be strengthening your interior life. And, of course, that's where you work out your salvation during your journey from birth to eternal life. Don't forget this.
I remind myself that each day this week is another Easter. So while I'm back at my desk, I try to keep these special solemn holy days somehow present in my daily tasks. When I'm successful, every once in a while I even "feel" a kind of splash of transcendent joy amidst the mundane moments that comprise a typical day at work for me - really I do.
If you kept a somewhat serious Lent, you should too. For example, if you made some effort at special mortification and now you're "released" from the observance of one or more of those efforts, you'll notice a certain "relief" - and that relief, when fertilized by your faith, can turn to joy. To be more specific (and not to pat myself on the back or brag in any way), throughout Lent, I would wait a full 4 minutes after saying grace to eat my meals. I know, it's not a big deal, but day after day it does leave an impression, at least it does on me. It did succeed in turning my mind to Our Lord for a few minutes, and it did result in my consciously offering this tiny sacrifice in reparation for sins and for the suffering souls in Purgatory. (At least it did some of the time, when I wasn't in the rushed and distracted state of mind that sometimes infects me at work.) So now, not waiting those four minutes makes a difference and - again, really - I do experience a sense of joy which elevates my soul to a brief moment of remembrance of contemplation of the incredible events of that first Easter and the days thereafter.
If you're not sure about just how important and solemn the days of this week after Easter really are, here's a brief description from my old Pius X Missal (a missal of the Tridentine Rite):
The days within the Octave of Easter are preferred over all feasts and do not admit of any commemorations.That's why, for example, we celebrate the Annunciation on April 8th this year instead of its usual March 25th. First, March 25th fell during Holy Week, and the same rule applied for Holy Week. But given the importance of the feast of the Assumption, it wasn't just going to kind of "disappear" like the feasts of some of the saints that fall during Holy Week or the Octave of Easter (they don't really of course, but we just don't explicitly celebrate them at Mass). So the Assumption will be observed April 8th, since it can't be "moved" to the Octave either.
By the way, while observing the Liturgical Year can seem a bit of a luxury, or somehow the pursuit of the obscure in our secularized, fast-paced, pressurized world, I'd encourage you to do all you can to "connect" with the Church's year as much as you can manage. Maybe today's brief remarks will motivate you if you don't already make the attempt.
So let's all keep the Octave of Easter in all it's glory and solemnity even as we go about our work this week. You'll be strengthening your interior life. And, of course, that's where you work out your salvation during your journey from birth to eternal life. Don't forget this.
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