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We work so hard at getting the agony right and then the ecstasy stands waiting in our exhaustion like a puppy with a new bone in a house full of hungover liturgists. Why do we spend so much time and energy on a week of suffering and then collapse into exhausted silence for the second week of Holy joy? Jesus pulls us from sleep to dance, but we go right back to the routine as if cooking a four-course meal only to collapse into bed from the effort, leaving the meal to sit on a table with no guests. Where did everybody go? How could we so imbalance this story?

The Rev. Charles LaFond writes about our natural tendency to do Holy Week to the fullest and then nearly forget about Easter. "It is time to recalibrate so that our human fetish for shame and guilt may be balanced with some surprise of joy," he writes at his blog, The Daily Sip, "A new Easter Week Triduum"

But is three days in Easter week really enough? The tradition of the Church includes a full week of celebration: Easter Week as an answer to Holy Week.

I'm eager to collect some more thoughts on this topic after writing about this imbalance yesterday: "Did we overdo Holy Week and Easter Day?"

Collect for Easter Tuesday

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that we, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.

Lessons for Tuesday in Easter Week

Labels: Easter