Easter Reluctance

Here then is another criterion for Easter joy. Only when we are willing to leave sin behind – to leave behind the devil’s hold on our lives – will we be able to rejoice fully in Easter. Only when we are willing to set aside our comfortable, familiar old sins – really willing to have them taken away – will we know the risen Christ fully. This is why Mother Church always has us prepare for Easter by a season of repentance. We spend forty days considering our enslavement so that we can rejoice more in our freedom.