This Easter season, the U.S. bishops are inviting old and new Catholics to discover the truth, beauty and goodness of the Mass through a new reflection series releasing every Thursday from Divine Mercy Sunday to Pentecost, April 13 through May 25.
Titled Beautiful Light: A Paschal Mystagogy and part of the bishop’s National Eucharistic Revival campaign, the series will feature powerful weekly reflections from some of the nation’s leading Catholic speakers and theologians on the divine mystery of the Mass.
“At every age and stage of life, Jesus invites us to discover the joy of friendship with him,” said National Eucharistic Revival spokeswomanFranciscan of the Eucharist Sister Alicia Torres in a Monday press release. “For Catholics, this happens in a most special way during Mass — the source and summit of the Christian life.’”
“Many of us haven’t had the chance to really explore the beauty and mystery God invites us into at Mass. That is the goal of [this series], to give every Catholic a chance to go deeper this Easter season,” Sister Alicia said.
Over the seven weeks of the series, seven different Catholic thinkers will write reflections on different rites of the Mass:
- Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis will kick off the series by writing on sacrifice.
- Sister Maria Miguel Wright of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, will follow by reflecting on praise and thanksgiving.
- Next, renowned biblical scholar Jeff Cavins will write on the universal call to holiness.
- Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle will reflect on Jesus as Lord and lover of souls.
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ president Archbishop Timothy Broglio will write about the Paschal Mystery.
- Theologian and podcaster Father Harrison Ayre will write on the communal character of the Church as the Body of Christ.
- Archdiocese of Washington adult-formation and Hispanic catechesis coordinator Kately Javier will finish off the series by reflecting on the joy of Trinitarian adoration.
“Whether you are just joining the Church at Easter vigil this year or have been Catholic your entire life, this series is for you,” Sister Alicia said.
She told CNA that her “primary hope is that this series will help us open our hearts to a new and deeper encounter with Jesus in the Mass that impels us to go on mission with Jesus — especially in the ordinary, everyday moments of our lives.”
“What does it look like to go on mission with Jesus? Jesus told us to love one another as he has loved us (John 13:34). Loving this way — the way Jesus loves — this is what it means to go on mission with him. When we are on mission with Jesus, we are living Eucharistic lives,” Sister Alicia said.
The Paschal mystagogy theme calls for an Easter rediscovery of the Mass. The word “paschal” refers to the Easter season, while mystagogy refers to “liturgical catechesis to initiate people in the mysteries of Christ” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1075).
In a 2019 address, Pope Francis said that “mystagogy means discovering the new life we have received in the people of God through the sacraments and continually rediscovering the beauty of renewing it.”
To access the Easter reflections, subscribe here.
For more information on the National Eucharistic Revival, click here.