Easter Octave Monday 2024 - This is the day that the Lord has made.

Throughout the octave of easter, we hear an echoed refrain from Psalm 118: “This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” Psalm 118 was the responsorial psalm on easter Sunday, and we hear it echoed each day of the octave in the Gospel acclamation. We also find it in the responsory at morning prayer, for those who pray the liturgy of the hours.

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” I remember singing this attending Easter Masses as a young boy, and it still fills me with joy.

These words capture the very essence of what we celebrate during this sacred time. Easter Sunday marked the culmination of God's plan of salvation, the day when Christ triumphed over sin and death, and opened for us the gates of eternal life. It was, indeed, the day the Lord had made, the day that changed the course of human history forever.

But the joy of Easter is not confined to a single day. The Church, in her wisdom, gives us an entire Octave to contemplate and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Eight days of uninterrupted rejoicing, eight days to allow the reality of Christ's victory to sink into our hearts and transform our lives.

And so, each day of this Octave, we repeat this refrain, reminding ourselves that every day is a gift from God, a chance to participate in the new life that Christ has won for us. Every day, we are called to live as Easter people, to allow the light of the resurrection to dispel the darkness of our world.

Throughout this week, as we hear the accounts of the risen Christ appearing to his disciples, as we witness the transformation of doubt into faith, fear into courage, and sorrow into joy, we are reminded that the power of the resurrection is not meant to be a distant memory but a present reality. “This” is the day the Lord has made. Not just easter Sunday, but today. Because the newness of life begun at easter continues to unfold in our lives when we act as people of faith—when we allow our easter faith to animate our lives.

Each day, as we face our own challenges, struggles, and doubts, we are called to remember that Christ has overcome the world and that, in Him, we too can be victorious—when we allow our Christian identity—our union with the risen Christ to transform, animate, and guide.

So let us make this refrain our own, not just during this Easter Octave but every day of our lives. Let us wake up each morning with the conviction that "this is the day the LORD has made" and resolve to "be glad and rejoice in it." Let us allow the joy of the resurrection to permeate our thoughts, words, and actions, and let us share that joy with all those we encounter. Alleluia! He is Risen! For the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn to earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. 

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received. 

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.