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The Easter Cycle
We have been reconciled to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the
Blessed Trinity. Heretofore we were the children of wrath; but now we are His friends,
members of His family, members of the elect.
The second fruit of our justification is the fact that through the death and resurrection
of Christ we have received and now live a life of grace. By virtue of the grace we have
received, we share the life of God, a life of unspeakable blessedness and riches. The “eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man what things
God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor 2:9). We are made “partakers of the
divine nature” (2 Pt 1:4). By reason of the grace we possess, we have an assurance and
guarantee of the glory which we anticipate even now as children of God. “Dearly beloved,
we are now the sons of God; and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that
when He shall appear, we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn
3:2). We shall see Him, no longer as in a mirror, but face to face; we shall rest lovingly in
His heart; we shall share His habitation and His blessedness for all eternity. That is our
hope, the hope in which we glory.
The prospect of the future. “And not only so, but we glory also in tribulations, knowing that
tribulation worketh patience, and patience trial, and trial hope; and hope confoundeth not”
(Epistle). Such hope is possessed by the Christian who has lived through Easter and Pentecost
in the spirit of the Church. He rejoices even in the trials and tribulations of life. He knows
that tribulation gives him an opportunity to practice patience. By suffering patiently he will
gain strength; his virtue will be tried and proved, and he will acquire a firm hope, which will
not deceive. This hope is the third fruit of the justification which Christ won for us through
His suffering and resurrection. With it we find joy in the tribulations and afflictions of life, for
we know that they effect our eternal reward. The unbeliever, the pagan, is a pessimist. He flies
from tribulations and curses them. We, however, rejoice if we are allowed to suffer. We do not
look on affliction as an evil, but rather as the path to eternal glory. For us suffering carries in its
bosom eternal salvation.
Certainty. “Hope confoundeth not; because the charity of God is poured forth in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us” (Epistle). We are certain of the life that awaits
us. This confidence rests on our awareness that God loves us. This is the sweetest mystery of
Christianity: God loves us with a divine love. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the
Father through the Holy Ghost. This Holy Ghost is the love through which and in which God
loves Himself. Nor does He reserve this love entirely for Himself. He pours it into our hearts also
like a healing, nourishing, strengthening oil. In the Holy Ghost we love God in the way that is
most pleasing to Him and most fitting for us who are the children of God; that is, we love Him
with the love of the Holy Ghost, whom we possess and through whom we return the kiss of
paternal love. Could our hope betray us, since God sees the image of the Holy Ghost in us, and
therefore loves Himself in us? Must not the promise of Christ be fulfilled in us, “As the Father
hath loved Me, I also have loved you” ( Jn 15:9)? Joyfully aware of God’s love, the liturgy sings:
“Hope confoundeth not; because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost, who is given to us” (Epistle).
These are the priceless gifts of the Easter season which closes today: We are saved, we are justified,
we have been reconciled with God, and are at peace. We possess sanctifying grace and share
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