Damned for all time? – Judas Iscariot
April 1, 2021
Thursday April 1st: Perfect Love
April 1, 2021

What Easter means to me

Six women share their thoughts on this incredible season of Easter!

  1. Stephanie Rattan

What does Easter mean for you?

Easter is about new life, and having walked through Lent, it is a reminder that after the trial comes victory and that new life is mine to choose.

What is your favourite part of the Tridiuum?

My favourite part of the Tridiuum is the Gloria Saturday Vigil. The church is in darkness and everyone is holding their lighted candle, which for me symbolises that though life, things may be gloomy and dark, I carry the light of Christ not just physically, but within my very being.

Favourite Hymn? 

My Lord he died for a kingdom.

Do you have a family Easter tradition?

No, not really.

**

2. Sharina Gerald

St Francis of Assisi, Sangre Grande

What does Easter mean for you?

Easter is a time of reflection for me. It’s a time of renewal and shedding old ways.

What is your favourite part of the Tridiuum?

My favourite part of the Triduum is the Good Friday procession. Although I’ve never experienced the entire procession, I have witnessed the solemn entrance into the church and it brings out so many emotions within me. It feels as though I was there at the Crucifixion so many years ago and I am broken but healed at the same time.

Favourite Hymn?

I do like the Alleluia chant at the vigil (Confitemini Domino)

Do you have a family Easter tradition?

In my family, Easter is similar to Christmas. We bake fruit cake, change curtains and have a lavish lunch on the Sunday.

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3. Margaret Steward

Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Carapichaima

What does Easter mean for you?

Easter reminds me that I have new life in Christ; I have redemption and can call God, Abba, and daddy, because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us.

What is your favourite part of the Tridiuum?

Good Friday is very humbling for me. Jesus’ selfless love assures me that all my sins were nailed to that cross and He paid for them all so I have a chance to enter into New Jerusalem as my new home when I leave this earth.

Favourite Hymn?

Were you there (When They Crucified My Lord)?

Do you have a family Easter tradition?

Our tradition is to gather for lunch on Easter Sunday with my children, parents, siblings, loved ones as we do on Christmas Day, celebrating new life and new beginnings.

**

4. Debra Bartholomew

Parish: St Mary’s and Assumption

What does Easter for mean you?

Easter means love. That I am loved no matter what, that God’s love and mercy encompass and embrace and set me free through the death and Resurrection of His Son. It’s a feeling of overwhelming joy and humility.

What is your favourite part of the Triduum?

My favourite part of the Triduum…All of it! I look forward to the entire journey. I’d never been to Glorious Saturday before a few years ago….and I was blown away by the beauty and reverence. But honestly every day is special in its own right.

Favourite Hymn?

Were you there (When They Crucified My Lord)?, I sing it very Negro spiritual.

Do you have an Easter family tradition?

I used to attend Mass on Easter Sunday morning with my boys, one in choir and one serving as an altar server before COVID-19 and then breakfast at my parents prepared by my sister and Mom. Last year was the first year without her and we decided to keep the tradition alive in her memory with a chair at the table left empty in her honour.

**

5. Niobe Rodrigues

Parish: Our Lady of Montserrat, Tortuga

What does Easter mean for you?

I cannot think about Easter without thinking about Lent. Lent is a time to start over and for self analysis and self reflection. It gives the opportunity to press reset and do better. Easter is a time for us to continue with the new habits that we formed during Lent and to look at the work of the Apostles after Christ’s Resurrection. It is a time for new courage, new faith and new energy and new focus for the things of God.

What is your favourite part of the Tridiuum?

I always enjoy Glorious Saturday night best. I love the symbolism of the darkness, the lighting of the candles, seven readings, the Psalms. It is a powerful night and my favourite liturgy for the entire year. I especially enjoy singing the Litany of the Saints! Gloria Saturday night is it for me!

Favourite Hymn?

O when the Lord rose Triumphant.

Do you have a family Easter tradition?

We do not have a tradition but my children usually have an Easter egg hunt planned by their aunt and grandmother which they and their cousins enjoy. We may have a special meal and spend time at home together and I may take them to visit my mother as well.

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6. Cathy Thompson

Parish: St Peter’s, Point a Pierre

What does Easter mean for you?

Easter for me and my family means that we can live knowing that Jesus sacrificed His life for our sins so we can live.

What is your favourite part of the Triduum?

Good Friday

Favourite Hymn

Fill my house

Do you have a family Easter tradition?

One tradition we always have is going to church on Good Friday and doing the Stations of the Cross. After this we all go out to eat as a family. Makes you truly appreciate your loved ones now more than ever in this time of COVID-19.