Did you see it? For a few days – the rain stopped – the skies cleared and there she glowed – beautiful in all her glory – the Easter Moon.
According to the Julian Calendar, Easter is calculated as the first Sunday following the first full moon on or after the spring equinox.
The days become longer after the equinox as we move out of winter and into brighter spring days. This can also be a metaphor for our pascal journey. We have passed through 40 days of Lent and now have arrived at the most sacred days in our liturgical calendar, the Trudium: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Saturday night Easter Vigil.
For three days we journey with Jesus. On Holy Thursday, He establishes the Eucharist. On Good Friday, Jesus is crucified, offering Himself as the atoning sacrifice, and on Easter, He resurrects. In His Person, Christ redeems our darkness and transforms the whole creation.
As a preface to the Triduum, we celebrate the Tenebrae on Wednesday evening. The Tenebrae ritualizes the coming days of darkness and the eventual triumph of light. We look again at our Easter Moon etched in mystery. Such a fitting metaphor for the coming days.
