3 Ways To Celebrate Christ’s Love This Easter Season
Cross Catholic Outreach
We mobilize the global Catholic Church to transform the poor and their communities around the world.
This Easter season, as we are called to live out our baptism, we are encouraged to share our gratitude for the many blessings in our lives by helping others who are less fortunate.
I have fond childhood memories of attending Mass on Easter and returning home to baskets filled with chocolates, jelly beans and other Easter treats. Easter Sunday was a time of joy and family togetherness and a celebration of the fulfillment of our faith, honoring the day Christ conquered sin and death for the sake of all humanity.
This celebration isn’t limited to Easter Sunday — that’s only the beginning!
Why the Easter Season Is a Time for Generosity
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “The word ‘Easter’ comes from Old English, meaning simply the ‘East.’ The sun which rises in the East, bringing light, warmth, and hope, is a symbol for the Christian of the rising Christ, who is the true Light of the world.”
The Catholic Church celebrates the Easter season for 50 days, culminating in Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, Mary and other followers of Jesus. Easter is not only a season of grace, joy and thanksgiving but also a time when we are called to live out our baptismal promise to proclaim the Good News through word and deed — serving others in the example of Jesus Christ.
Ideas for Easter Family Traditions
The Easter season celebrates the Resurrection of our King and the beginning of a new hope, taking what sin had broken and restoring beauty as God had always intended. The Resurrection encourages us to pursue God’s purpose in our lives and for the sake of others.
Families can celebrate this Easter promise by sharing Christ’s light with the poor. This can be accomplished by supporting Catholic bishops, priests, and religious and lay workers around the world who have dedicated their lives to blessing the poorest of the poor with material aid and spiritual guidance.
While there are many ways to be a blessing, here are three programs that can empower your family to live out the Corporal Works of Mercy this Easter season and beyond.
1. Feed the Poor
Sharing a meal is often an important element of family Easter celebrations, but we must also remember that as many as 343 million people globally are facing acute hunger. Addressing their need should be one of our priorities as Catholics. To provide that help, Cross Catholic Outreach distributes millions of meals each year through a network of schools, orphanages, community-based feeding centers and local ministry partners in developing countries.
When your family contributes to Cross Catholic Outreach and its programs to feed the hungry, you will be supporting ministry partners such as the Diocese of Santa Rosa of Lima in Guatemala and the Diocese of Karonga in Malawi. Your gift equips these dioceses with the nutritious meals they need to feed hungry children and families. To these and other Catholic missions, the food you provide is a godsend, enabling them to give the poor sustenance and hope!
2. Give Drink to the Thirsty
On Good Friday, Jesus thirsted on the Cross, not only in the physical sense. He also thirsted for our love — and for us to compassionately share his sacrificial gift with the world. One of the ways we can accomplish this during the Easter season is to share clean drinking water with the nearly 2 billion people who do not have reliable access to clean, safely managed water sources.
By supporting worldwide water initiatives, your family can protect children in developing countries from cholera and other dangerous waterborne diseases. Cross Catholic Outreach’s water projects are an incredible blessing to families in places such as Malawi, Nicaragua, Kenya and Haiti.
3. Shelter the Homeless
The Easter season beckons all of us to make a home for the Risen One in our hearts. Tragically, at least 1.6 billion people worldwide live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. This includes homes built from sticks, mud bricks, and scraps of metal and plastic — tiny patchwork shacks that become as hot as ovens on sunny days and fill with pools of water every time it rains.
Cross Catholic Outreach’s global housing program blesses families in places like Kobonal, Haiti, with safe, sturdy homes. These concrete homes include solar-powered lights and basic electricity, galvanized steel roofs, lockable doors and sanitary latrines.
You Can Make a Difference This Easter Season
Sacrifices made in love can change the world. More than 2,000 years ago, a perfect sacrifice made on the Cross forever changed the future for all humanity. The Easter season challenges us to follow Christ’s example by making small acts of sacrificial love. Beyond addressing urgent needs, these acts serve as a witness to the Gospel in the lives of those less fortunate.