He is risen.
Now is the time to celebrate the miraculous Resurrection during Eastertide to continue the joy that fills our hearts across Brooklyn and Queens.
Yet for many Catholics, Easter Monday can feel like a return to the ordinary by getting back to the same routines, the same struggles, the same distractions that quietly erode the fire of faith.
This need not be so.
The Eastertide season, these 50 days leading to Pentecost, is not an afterthought but a deliberate time of mystagogy, the time that newly initiated Catholics from the Easter Vigil, which leads from the visible sacrament to the invisible spiritual reality.
For parishioners, it is an invitation to move from Easter celebration to Easter living with renewed faith.
You will see at Mass that the church does not extinguish the paschal candle at the Vigil. The light of the risen Christ is meant to illumine every corner of our daily existence.
As the diocese welcomes 1,288 fully initiated Catholics this Easter Vigil, the call to us is to accompany one another in living the Resurrection.
What, then, can we do to keep our faith strong after Easter Sunday?
First, remain rooted in the sacraments, which bring us grace. Attend Sunday Mass with renewed attention and seek out daily Mass when possible.
Second, embrace daily prayer and Scripture. Replace fleeting Easter enthusiasm with steady habits. Use the rosary or simple meditation on the Resurrection accounts in the Gospels. The diocese offers resources through its Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis, including adult faith formation materials and the “52 Prayers” series that can anchor our spiritual lives.
Third, engage in the life of the parish and the broader diocesan community. The period of Eastertide calls us to reflect more deeply on the sacraments we celebrate.
Join a Bible study, a small faith-sharing group, or one of the formation programs offered through your parish. Serve through Catholic charities or local outreach. Faith grows when it is shared and lived in charity.
The diocesan offices continue to emphasize missionary discipleship: We are not meant to keep the Resurrection to ourselves.
Fourth, draw on the specific treasures available to us here in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Visit dioceseofbrooklyn. org for religious education resources, explore adult faith formation tools, and consider the “Pray for Me” initiative, which unites parishioners with support for contemplative prayer.
This newspaper, The Tablet, and Currents News can keep you connected to the living faith of our local church.
Even a small step like participating in a parish ministry can fuel the flame.
The truth is that Easter is not a single day but a season of the soul. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us.
Yet grace requires our cooperation. In a busy, often secular city, the distractions are many. The temptation after the high feasts is to let the fire cool into routine or, worse, spiritual complacency.
But the risen Jesus meets us precisely in the ordinary — at the kitchen table, in the subway, in the workplace, in moments of doubt or fatigue — just as surely as He met the apostles behind locked doors.
To the longtime parishioners of the diocese, your witness matters; the Resurrection is not behind us; it is our present reality and our future hope.