Christ is Risen – Truly He is Risen!

Today is a New Day. The day of Pascha is the ‘Day of Days’ and ‘Feast of Feasts’ on which the entire world rejoices! The fast has come to an end. The ‘extra-long’ services have finished. The Church, and our life, is no longer in darkness, but shining with the Light of the Risen Lord. Christ is Risen!

Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.

For ten weeks we have been waiting for this moment. Now, don’t let it come and go without changing you. The celebration of Pascha changes everything about our lives, even our prayers. For the next fifty days, even our prayers are different.

Traditionally, the Trisagion Prayers we offer to God every morning begin with “Heavenly King, Comforter…” but not today. For the next fifty days this prayer, a prayer to the Holy Spirit, is not offered. We will ‘see it again’ on the Feast of Pentecost, but that is not the only ‘change’ to our prayers.

Also in the Trisagion Prayers, we offer the ‘Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal…” three times. For the next forty days, we instead pray the ‘Christ is Risen’ three times before ‘moving on’ to the ‘All Holy Trinity’ Prayer.

Today is also another opportunity to set new priorities in our lives. As with every change, don’t try to change everything at once. Start ‘small’ and build upon your spiritual successes. Once your spiritual father ‘recovers’ from Pascha, it might be a good time to sit and discuss where to begin.

It will be tempting to allow life to ‘get back’ to normal soon. The Church extends Pascha to an entire week. This week, known as Bright Week in the Church, is one continuous celebration of Pascha. It has been known as the “Eighth Day” throughout historical tradition.

In a sense, celebrating Pascha for an entire week ‘as if’ it is one continuous day prepares us for the New Creation. Time will come to an end one day, and we will bask in the glow of Christ continuously. In the meantime, we should allow the traditions of our Church to help us get ready.

Enjoy the day. Celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of Pascha. Feast with friends. Christ is Risen and our life has meaning!