Now What?

Christ is risen, Alleluia! He has risen indeed, Alleluia!

These words ring loudly in the hearts of Christians on Easter Sunday, but a surprising silence follows in which we might ask ourselves, “Where do I go from here?” This silence and disorientation are especially palpable in this time of quarantine and social-distancing. Nonetheless, when trying to answer this question it’s admittedly tempting to leave behind our Lenten experiences, move past their culmination in the Paschal mysteries, and say to ourselves, “Okay, well that was nice. I’ll pick it back up next year.”

As easy as it is to fall into this trap, the point of Lent was to convert our way of life. But this conversion does not end, nor should it, simply because Lent is over. Perhaps we are questioning the next step because we think of conversion as something exclusively done through penance. To be sure, the Lenten season overshadows us with a mood of metanoia (i.e. conversion or transformation of the heart). We’ve lived in a state of purgation for forty days and forty nights, and this purgation was especially poignant during this pandemic. Lent has been particularly purgative this year, and its silence and isolation allowed for much self-reflection. Perhaps this transformed our hearts and the way we see ourselves, yet we’re still in need of further guidance and illumination (cf. Ps 22:1, 6).

The rising sun of Easter Sunday sheds the necessary light for this illumination while also answering the question of what we should be doing next. When the apostles first preached the Resurrection of Christ, their audience was also left bewildered (cf. Acts 2:36-41). Like those who heard the first Easter homily, we may also be disoriented when the pure light of the Resurrection reveals our sinfulness. But the solution is to look up and see the new life Christ offers us, a new life in which we exclaim with the Psalmist “How can I repay the Lord for all the great good done for me?” (Ps 116:12). We must never forget, however, that the life given by the Resurrection follows from Christ’s Passion.

As our hearts move from the lament of Psalm 22 to the deliverance of Psalm 116, we see how our Paschal conversion is the beginning of a new life of imitating Christ. As the light of conversion shines upon us, the rest of our paths remain illumined by that light. Each new sunrise then becomes an opportunity for us to continue in the Paschal light toward further conversion. Lent has disposed us to receive what is to come at Easter: a new life in Christ (Col 3:1-17). Thus, a new kind of conversion has begun in which we continue along the path of a new life by striving to conform ourselves to Christ. While Lent has purified us of earthly attachments, Easter draws us to the Risen Christ so that we may exult in his victory and be transformed by him. Even if you have only heard “Alleluia” via live streaming, Christ is still victorious and offers new life to you as well.

Each rising sun should remind us of the Risen Son and the fullness of the new life he has won for us. This is even true for those of you who perhaps have spent the Easter Triduum at home. Although you may not have been able to participate in the liturgies, the call to conversion does not remain within the doors of churches. Although the world seems far from being able to return to a normal routine, there is still work to be done for your continued sanctification. Despite the Paschal candle being seen through a screen, the light of a new life awaits you as well.

Christ is risen, Alleluia! He has risen indeed, Alleluia!