The 50 days of the season of Easter begin on Easter Sunday, April 20, and will run through the month of May. Below are resources to help increase your understanding of the joyous Easter season.
Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was, by Gerhard Lohfink. Who was Jesus? A prophet? There have been many of those. A miracle-worker? A radical revolutionary? A wise teacher? There have been many of these, too. In his latest book, renowned Scripture scholar Gerhard Lohfink asks, “What is unique about Jesus of Nazareth, and what did He really want?”
Faces of Easter: Meeting the Paschal Mystery in the People Around Us, by Albert Holtz. Using vignettes set in or near his monastery in downtown Newark, New Jersey, Benedictine monk Albert Holtz helps us to see that the Easter mystery—which can often seem abstract and distant—is in fact present all around us. As we accompany him through the 50 days of the Easter season, we listen in on his intriguing interactions with local street people and his inner-city high school students—an insider’s look at what goes on in a monk’s heart as he chants Vespers to the sound of police sirens. Anyone wishing to deepen his or her experience of the Easter mystery will find this a valuable and engaging book
In Shining Splendor: Easter Season Meditations on the Exsultet, by Father Richard Fragomeni. “Something cosmic happens at Easter. Under a full moon and a starry sky, the whole earth erupts into praise. Heaven and earth narrate the wonderful works of God, and all His music. The Risen One sets the rhythm, and all celestial and terrestrial voices are tuned for the song.” With these words, Father Richard Fragomeni sets the tone for 50 days of meditations on the great Easter vigil song of praise, the Exsultet.
To borrow these or other resources, the diocesan library and Office of Faith Formation and Lay Ecclesial Ministry are open for in-person visits and consultations 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. You may also visit https://doylib.follettdestiny.com. Once you make your selections, you can email the request to mhynes@youngstowndiocese.org.
