Sunday 12 April 2009

Sunday: the Lord's Day

Sunday: Feast of the Resurrection

While Guéranger pointed out that the whole of Paschaltide should be considered to be one Feast, he added that this Feast should be regarded as one great Sunday. The first day of the week was the first day of creation; in the Pasch of Christ, the new creation, the first day of the week has been newly consecrated for all time . Since man is the crowning work of God's creation, the re-creation of man through the resurrection of Christ is the crowning work of Christ's mission. The annual celebration of Easter is the foundation of the Liturgical Year, but every Sunday recalls the day of Christ's resurrection and has therefore a paschal character and should be celebrated as such.

Christ the Light

The concept of Christ the Light is an important aspect of Guéranger's thought on the mystery of Easter. The mystery of the Resurrection is the mystery of eternal light which fills those who accept it with purity and happiness. This is the beatitude of the pure in heart who see God, Joy, light and life, and the hope of immortality are aspects of the particular grace which is given to the Christian in the celebration of Easter.
The concept of the mystery of light, the light which is Christ glorified, led Guéranger to speak of paschaltide in mystical terms as the highest part of the «illuminative way». The paschal mystery is the manifestation of the glory of Christ which enlightens all men. This process of illumination is the work of the Holy Spirit through whose action we are sanctified and incorporated into Christ and who effects the indwelling of the Holy Trinity in the soul.  The celebration of the liturgy is like a mirror or a prism in which the believer receives the light of Christ reflected and diffused to meet his every need.

Wednesday 8 April 2009

The Paschal Mystery

Paschal Time: The hope of eternal life

Easter day is the great day, the Feast of Feasts and the Solemnity of Solemnities, it is the day of hope because Christ Jesus through the mystery of his death and resurrection has conquered death and opened for us the kingdom of heaven. Following the teaching of the Fathers, Guéranger spoke of the days of Paschaltide as «the image of eternity» . Every Feast celebrated in the Liturgy is a foretaste of eternal life but this is especially true of Easter, by celebrating «Easter in time» we prepare for the «Easter of eternity». By celebrating faithfully,  by entering into the mysteries of our redemption from one Easter to the next, we will arive at the eternal Easter, our glorification with Christ. The Church in her annual celebration of the memorial of our Redemption manifests the Paschal mystery here upon earth because she has upon her the indelible imprint of the risen Christ, the Church is the visible sign on earth of the risen and glorified Christ.

The Paschal Mystery

The resurrection of Christ is the fundamental dogma of our faith and Guéranger was imbued with the joy and hope and strength of the risen Christ, as is clearly reflected in his writings. That expression Paschal Mystery as a translation of the patristic term paschale sacramentum was first used in modern times by Prosper Guéranger illustrates beyond doubt his grasp of the meaning and importance of the Paschal mystery in the life of every Christian:
«Whoever has the good fortune to enter with the fulness of spirit and heart into the love and understanding of the paschal mystery, has arrived at the very centre of the supernatural life"

It is through being one with the Church that the Christian enters into the celebration of the paschal mystery which is a participation in the sufferings and glory of the risen Christ.
The celebration of the Eucharist, the sacrament of the paschal mystery, is both the principle and the means of entering into this mystery. Guéranger took care to point out that the totality of the paschal mystery in its liturgical celebration includes the
mystery of the Ascension and Pentecost. The succession of days during the paschal season are not to be considered as a prolongation of the Feast but as one Feast. Paschaltide with its three great manifestations of love and divine power: the
Resurrection, the Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, is the culminating point of our redemption. The renovative  and affective power of the celebration of the paschal mystery is beyond human comprehension.
Guéranger's comprehensive vision of the meaning of the paschal mystery and of the need to be united to the whole mystery and not just devoted to one aspect is succinctly expressed in the following passage:
«It is not enough for man to rest upon the merits of the Passion of the Redeemer who washed away our sins with his blood; it is not enough to recall the Resurrection which gave the divine Liberator the victory over death; man is not saved, is not restored, except by the union of these two mysteries with a third, with the mystery of the triumphant Asccnsion of him who died and rose again.» .