On Sunday we begin our celebration of Holy Week which culminates in the great three-day feast of the Easter Triduum. On Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil we are not simply remembering past events but sharing in their meaning and transformative power. We are celebrating the central mystery of the Lord's cross and resurrection, and by so doing we are entering into the eternal love of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

The Easter Vigil is the high point of the Church's year. Lent is spent preparing for it, and from it flow the fifty days of Easter. The Vigil is replete with meaning, and each year we gain new insights into what it is to say that we believe in the crucified and risen one. The signs and symbols, the readings and the proclamations, help us to appreciate and understand our Christian faith ever more deeply.

Jesus shares his risen life with us in the sacraments. If we want to see the signs of that life at work in our communities then let us go to the Vigil. There we will see people of all ages reborn through the womb of the font. There we will see the life-giving Spirit poured out in Confirmation. There we will feast on the risen Body and Blood of Christ. Good Friday and Easter are far more than events in history, the cross and resurrection are the very heart of our Christian faith, worship, and life.

P.D.