Easter Isn't Just for Sunday Anymore

One of the many advantages of the Catholic faith is the way in which it continues to emphasize the salvation story throughout the year. The 40 days of Lent , alms giving, fasting and concentrated prayer focus on repentance. But this is followed by the glorious events of Holy Week and the beautiful services of the Triduum. Then finally Easter comes and the resurrection is proclaimed and celebrated. On Easter day the reading of the gospel is a short one just telling the story of the disciples finding the empty tomb. But the Easter story continues and the Church in her wisdom continues to celebrate Easter for a whole week, called the Octave of Easter. (Actually the ancient Church celebrated the resurrection until Pentecost!)
Our priest in morning Mass said, the mystery of the resurrection is too deep for us to just spend one day on it. It helps to let the events of salvation history percolate through our minds and heart all week via the readings of the gospel in daily Mass. The gospel readings of the week continue to focus on the events of the resurrection and Jesus' many appearances to the disciples. Tomorrow's gospel is the Way to Emmaus story, (one of my favorites as you know by now.)