Indian Newslink 1st APRIL 2018 Digital Edition

APRIL 1, 2018
20 EasterSpecial
Easterdenotes charity, introspection and service
Wenceslaus Anthony
New Zealand, like the
rest of theChristian
world will observe
Easter (Sunday)on
April 1, 2018, with the preceding
two days and the succeedingday
spent in churches, congregations
and otherreligious pursuits.
Signifying the Resurrectionof
Jesus Christ and His Sacrifice for
thegood ofhumanity, Easter denotes
introspection, charity and
service to the community.
Forall thefestive and commercial
clamour surrounding
Christmas, Easter is the much
moresignificant occasion on the
Christiancalendar.
Sombre and Joyous
Forbelievers, the event, which
embraces Christ’s death, burial
and resurrection, is both
the most sombre and the most
joyous of their year, and special
foods for theoccasion have
evolved in anyculture where the
tradition ishonoured.
In the Northern Hemisphere,
from Pagantimes,the Spring
Equinoxcelebrated the end
of Winter, and thepractice of
transposing Christian festivals
ontothe older Pagan calendar as
Easter.
In the Southern Hemisphere,
the seasonal significance of
Easter andthe four-day holiday
that traditionallyattends
it,tends tocentre on it being
the last great opportunity for a
long-weekend away before the
onset ofWinter. As we are reminded
every year, more of us
travel at Easter than at any other
time of the year.
TheHoly Week
Most Christians refer to the
week before Easter as ‘Holy
Week,’ sinceitaccounts for the
days of the Easter Triduum, includingMaundy
Thursday, commemorating
theMaundy,the
‘Last Supper’and Good Friday,
commemorating the crucifixion
and death ofJesus.
In Western Christianity,
Eastertide, orthe Easter Season,
begins onEaster Sunday and
lasts seven weeks, ending with
the comingofthe Fiftieth Day,
known as‘Pentecost Sunday.’
In Eastern Christianity, the season
ofPascha begins on Pascha
and ends with the coming of
the FortiethDay, the Feastofthe
Ascension.
Moveable Feats
Easter and theholidays that
are related toitare ‘moveable
feasts,’ which do not fall ona
fixeddate in the Gregorian or
Juliancalendars,which follow
only the cycle of the Sun.
Jesus Christ, Our Father and Our Saviour
Its date is determined
on aLunisolar Calendar
likethe Hebrew
calendar.
The First Council of
Nicaea (325) established
two rules, independence
of the Jewish calendar
and worldwide uniformity,
which were the
only rules for Easter explicitly
laid downbythe
Council.
No details for the
computation were specified;
these were worked
out in practice, aprocessthat
took centuries
and generated several
controversies.
It hascome to be the
first Sunday afterthe
Ecclesiastical Full Moon
that occurs on or soonest
after March 21, but
calculationsvary.
Easter eggs, special
cakes and hotcross
buns are among
the special foods of
Easter, with roast lamb,
the dish of the Jewish
Passover(which often
coincides with the
Christian festival) the
traditional meat of the
celebratory Sunday
lunch.
The Power of the
Lord,His Grace and
Mercy are the most
significant aspects of
Easter, which must be
told time and again, to
remind us mortals that
we are merely instruments
of His Destiny.
Jesus Christ said, “My
blood is shed for many
for theforgiveness of
sins.”
His blood redeems us
fromsin and gives us
righteousness andeternal
life.
His sacrifice par
excellence the Old
Testament sacrificial
system because Jesus
reconciles the believers
and restores the relationshipthat
was broken
byAdam’s sin.
Wenceslaus Anthony
(Picture by Ashok
Kochhar) wrotethe
above articlewhich
appeared in our April
1, 2017 Easter Special.
He passed away suddenly
in Chennai on
July 23, 2017.Inreproducing
this article,
we alsopay tribute to
the memory of adear
friend and Indian
Newslink columnist.
Mr Anthonywas the
Chairperson ofthe
Divine Retreat Centre
Movement in New
Zealand and Advisor
to theVailankanni
Committee to celebrate
the feast of the
Birthday of Mother
Mary(on September
8) and Director of
Conquest Club, which
aims to shapethe
character and personality
ofyoung boys in
the 8-14 age group.