In one corner of our church bulletin  I usually ad a blurb called ‘Catholic Quiz’. It is a multiple choice Q and A of our faith. You will not see it in today’s Easter bulletin as they bulletin is quite full with words of thanks for Lent and Holy Week.               A few weeks ago the question was – When does Lent end ? Is it – Start of Easter Saturday Mass, Easter Sunday, the start of Mass of Holy Thursday or 3:00 Good Friday ? The answer is – the start of Mass of Holy Thursday.  True the 40 days conclude on Palm Sunday then followed by Holy Week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but it is on Holy Thursday that the purple of Lent concludes. This is why we heard the Gloria on Holy Thursday, the bells on Holy Thursday and so on. What the church actually does in it wisdom is to put together the three great days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter into what we call the Tridium. Tri – three – the three days of faith. In some ways it is as if this is ‘one’ Mass , ‘one’ Liturgy but in three ‘parts’. That is why you saw at the end of Holy Thursday Mass there was no final blessing – it is as if we ‘continue’ into Good Friday then Easter Vigil. That is also why you saw the three time elevation of the cross and now the three time elevation of the Easter candle – all in the same spots. That is also why it is so difficult to preach on Easter alone – to isolate Easter from Holy Thursday and Good Friday; to preach only on Easter – it is impossible to do. Rater we have to put all three days – the one continuous Liturgy together as one and preach on this three day faith.  It is also interesting that along with these three days of belief are the three great Christian virtues – that of faith, hope and love. Is that not interesting that we have three days and three virtues. Thus it is important connect all the pieces of the puzzle – to fit everything together this Easter Day.                                                                                                                                                   Faith – the Faith of Holy Thursday. Yes it does take faith to believe in the Eucharist. To truly believe that this bread becomes Jesus’ Body – His very Flesh. It takes Faith. It takes Faith to believe that the wine is to be consecrated into His Blood. Not everyone believes this  - it does take Faith. We even see that in the Bible – remember the passage of St John when Jesus spoke of His Body. The crowds began to question Him – how can you give us Your Body ? Jesus then did not back down – actually He upped the ante – and said This is My Flesh ! And the Scriptures say – many turned and left Him. So yes dear friends it takes Faith to believe. Not every one has that Faith. We respect that.  Yet our Faith is well rooted. Yes Jesus was a miracle worker and certainly then could have miraculously changed bread to His Body. But – we can have even further confidence is this – because of Easter Sunday !  For Easter is the proof that Jesus is the Living God !  He has come back from the dead and thus, even more than a ‘miracle’ He has shown that He is the Living God ! And as the Living God – He was there when the whole universe was created – and so surely He can ‘change’ bread into His Body and wine into His Blood. We then can have great confidence in our Holy Thursday Faith…. All because of Easter Sunday. Likewise – Love. The Love of Good Friday – the sacrificial Love of Good Friday. We see this – again the three days as one – in the Love of the washing of the feet of Holy Thursday. But the Love of Good Friday is rooted in Easter Sunday . For in Easter we see the power, the immense glory and power of God. He who changes death into life. And therefore with the, and in the power of Easter Sunday this gives great grace to Good Friday Love. With this power of Easter Sunday we are able to love and to offer a Good Friday love and never be exhausted by it. With the power of Easter Sunday our Good Friday Love can stretch to the ends of the earth. We can love because of Easter Sunday. Our hearts can stretch out to the victims of the ferry boat accident in South Korea,  can stretch out to the events of the Ukraine, to the people of Palestine, the homeless at St Vincent Kitchen in Oshawa and the seniors at Ballycliffe Home. And in the power of Easter our Good Friday love will never run out ! Thus the Faith of Holy Thursday, the Love of Good Friday …..                                                      and the Hope , the Hope of Easter Sunday. For Hope truly finds its roots in Easter. For in Jesus , and Jesus alone did one arise – no-one has ever done this before or since. Yes people such as Lazarus arose but only to die again. Only in Jesus Christ did one Rise and Live forever. And this fact gives us Easter hope. Again – if He can bring life from death; if He can move from the cross to the tomb in the fact of His Rising then our difficulties and our situations certainly He can take care of. If He can do this on Easter Sunday then He can care for any situation, any person or situation that we are praying for. The virtue of Easter is truly – Hope.                                                                                                                                                                       I pray for each and every one of you, as I know that you pray for me.   I pray that your children will grow strong. I pray that you will have good health and cheer. I pray that you will do well in life.  And yet on this day .. I pray for those gifts – of Faith, Love and Hope;  Holy Thursday Faith, Good Friday Love and Easter Hope.   Easter Homily 2014 Fr Keith Wallace