Easter Is More than One Day

Most Catholics know Easter Sunday is the high point of the liturgical year, but they may be less aware that the Church celebrates the feast for eight days, which is known as the Octave of Easter. The recollection of the momentous event of Jesus destroying death by rising needs more than one day to give proper reverence and reflection.

The Church celebrates the eight days by offering different Gospel accounts from various perspectives, enriching present-day disciples with the eyewitness accounts of those who met Jesus after he rose from the dead. On Monday, after observing the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went in haste to tell the other disciples, and behold, Jesus met them and told them, “Do not be afraid.” He then instructed them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, where he would meet them. St. Matthew also includes that the chief priests heard the news that Jesus was not in the tomb and bribed the guards, telling them to say, “His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.”

On Tuesday, the Gospel of St. John recalls the moment Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene when he called her name. In response, she replied, “Rabbouni,” which means teacher. Jesus responded, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” The exchange implies Mary’s lack of understanding. Once she was aware she was talking to Jesus, she reverted to the relationship she may have had before Jesus was executed. Jesus urges her that the new reality of the glorified and resurrected Jesus is quite different. Mary immediately went to tell the disciples and informed them she had seen the Lord.

On Wednesday, St. Luke describes the famous Emmaus story. Two men were recounting the event that had just happened on the first day of the week. Jesus appeared to them, and they were unable to recognize him. Jesus asked them what they were talking about. Downcast, they recalled the events that led to Jesus’ death and how they heard the women tell them the tomb was empty. Then, Jesus began interpreting scripture to them about how the Son of Man must suffer, die, and rise on the third day.  The two men invited Jesus to dinner, and while he was with them, he took the bread, broke it, and blessed it. Then, the two men’s eyes were opened, and Jesus vanished. The Emmaus story prefigures the Eucharist, where the faithful’s eyes are opened to see the host as the glorified Body of Christ, not just bread.

Thursday’s reading is also from St. Luke. The two who recognized Jesus in breaking the Bread were with the other disciples when Jesus appeared. They were frightened, and Jesus calmed them down by showing them his hands and feet. Strangely, Jesus asked them for something to eat, and they gave him a piece of baked fish, and he ate it. No one can be sure why Jesus asked for food and ate it. Perhaps he was trying to alleviate the disciples’ fears, thinking he was a ghost or a figment of their imagination.  Jesus recalled scripture prophesying his death and resurrection as he did with the two on the road to Emmaus.  The reading ends with: “You are witnesses of these things.”

The reading from St. John is Friday’s selection. The disciples, still not moved enough, returned to their previous jobs by fishing in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus appears on the shore, advising his disciples where to cast their nets. Upon hearing Jesus’ voice, Peter said, “It is the Lord.” None of the other men dared to ask who it was for, for they knew it was the Lord. It was the third time Jesus appeared to them after the resurrection.

Saturday, St. Mark focuses on how the disciples were slow to believe after Mary Magdalene and the two on the road attested that they had seen the risen Lord. Later, when the Eleven were at the table, Jesus appeared to them, rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, and told them they were commissioned to go into the world and proclaim the Gospel.

The final day of the octave is Divine Mercy Sunday, which tells the story of the doubting Thomas. Thomas told his fellow disciples he would not believe until he touched the Savior’s side. When Jesus appeared and allowed Thomas to touch him, he responded, “My Lord and my God.” 

Revisiting the readings for Easter reveals that those eyewitnesses to the resurrected Lord showed all signs of human limitations.  These hesitations work to prove their testimony about the risen Lord is more accurate than if they had first seen and believed. Their initial skepticism authenticates rather than denies their later eyewitness account that Jesus had risen from the dead.