Happy Easter! Yes, we celebrate eight days of Easter as if each day was Easter itself. Then we continue to celebrate the Easter Season for a total of 50 days. I think that there is a lesson to be learned here. Lent lasts for 40 days, but Easter lasts for 50 days. God knows us and He is in charge of what His Church teaches. Our Church asks us to experience 40 days of fasting in preparation for Easter, but we are then to celebrate the great moment of our salvation (Christ’s Resurrection) for 50 days. We are called to be joyful. Fasting and doing without is part of the preparation for the feast, but the feast is the real deal. We suffer on earth, but the real deal is heaven. The joy in heaven far surpasses any suffering here. The cycles of our liturgies reinforce this truth. We feast more than we fast. And we do so because we are made for heaven; we are made for joy! St. Teresa of Avila one said, “From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord deliver us.” She also said, “A sad nun is a bad nun, I am more afraid of one unhappy sister than a crowd of evil spirits.” St. Teresa understood (and understands even more fully now) that when we abide in Christ it should fill us with joy. We are loved by love Himself. The God of the universe loved us into existence and then became one of us so that He could die for our sins. In the words of the old American folksong, “How could I keep from singing?” (written by a Baptist preacher). If we really know we are loved, how could we keep from singing out in joy?! A joyful Christian is one who is a powerful witness and evangelizer. Happy Easter. — Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] For more information concerning the events of this office, visit us at mobilefaithformation.org