Christ is Risen: Dickinson Christians prepare to celebrate Easter

Apr. 4—DICKINSON — As treacherous blizzards pass over the Western Edge, Easter weekend brings times of joyous family gatherings, egg hunts and candy for young children. But it's also a period of deep reflection on the greatest event in human history. The Western annual calendar hinges on this, which is the crucifixion death and miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth approximately 2,000 years ago. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,

Easter

is an old English word that simply means East. The deeper symbolism is that the sun rising in the East represents Christ bringing light, warmth and hope to the world through his forgiving grace and mercy.

It's an occasion celebrated by 2 billion people across the world who belong to a wide range of Christian denominations. Pastor Joel Prange of the Amazing Grace Lutheran congregation in Dickinson explained why it's such a momentous occasion, calling it a symbol of Christ's victory.

"It's (the Book of) Romans that says Jesus rising from the dead was necessary for our justification. So that's how we know we have sure salvation. That's how we know that we have eternal life. And that's why it's been celebrated," Prange said.

Trinity Catholic Schools Chaplain Fr. Grant Dvorak said Holy Week is a busy one for his students. Monday night the older students put on a play/musical to perform the Stations of the Cross. The following day they ate a traditional Jewish Seder meal organized by Assistant Chaplain Fr. Ben Wanner, who recently returned from a trip to Israel, to help them better understand Passover. Weather permitting, on Wednesday they'll be watching

Passion of the Christ

and participating in a church walk with DSU's Blue Hawk Catholics on Thursday.

"Our students are going to join that by walking to each of the churches and doing a brief time of prayer at each church in Dickinson, just to participate in the same kind of journey that would have taken place with Jesus as he carried his cross," Dvorak said.

He added that he strongly recommends the aforementioned film to those who haven't seen it.

"It's just the best depiction of the passion, death, crucifixion and then it ends with Easter morning," Dvorak said. "It allows you to enter into what that actually would have been like. We have all these different conceptions, pictures in our head... But it allows you to experience emotionally and imaginatively what Jesus actually went through."

Pastor Ron Dazell of Evangelical Bible Church said sometimes Christians get distracted by delightful secularized customs to such a degree that they lose sight of the true meaning of a religious holiday.

"Worldly amusements, they're fun and they're fine," Dazell said. "But on their own they've completely missed the point. And you can eat all the Easter candy you want. You won't change as a man. But if you come to the cross, God will change you forever."

That's why he makes a conscious effort to call it "Resurrection Sunday." He pointed out that like football, the Easter bunny is easy to discuss because it's only skin deep.

"Easter rabbits and eggs are surface level. They're easy to talk about. Everybody loves chocolate and jelly beans. But boy, to sit down and have a true heartfelt conversation about our need for a savior... If Jesus really is God, then what he accomplished for us at the cross demands our attention. And I don't know that everybody welcomes that," Dazell said. "I think that that's uncomfortable for us. Because then we have to admit that we sin. Then we have to admit that we're doomed without a Savior. I think a lot of people just like to live as though that ain't true."

When asked about seasonal fasting Dazell said his congregation doesn't actively participate in such Lenten traditions, but added that he sees the potential for a valuable and Godly experience in them when done correctly. For example, he said if someone were abstaining from lunch for Lent, they should be using that time for prayer and studying scripture.

"I'm supportive of fasting. I think fasting is a practice that, it's a lost art so to speak. People generally don't understand it very well, because we just don't do it very much," he said. "When it's done correctly, in my mind, we're not just giving something up as though it earns us a better seat at the table or like, well then maybe God will hear me a little better or he'll owe me something. Instead, what you do is, you should be giving that time as an opportunity to seek the Lord at a greater portion."

When asked about why Catholics fast on certain holy days and abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, Msgr. Thomas Richter, who leads Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Dickinson, said it's a concrete way of thanking God for what he did to save us from our sins. He also pointed out that denying ourselves certain pleasures can render us more virtuous Christians with greater fulfillment. This can entail choices such as skipping a night of television to volunteer for a charity, or foregoing fleeting pleasures of the moment to save one's self for marriage.

"All ascetical practices in the Catholic Church are done for two reasons. One as a response of gratitude to the suffering, and the self-offering of Christ for us that God himself suffered death for you and me, suffered death because we rebelled against him," Richter said. "The second reason for the ascetical life, for denying ourselves, is precisely about wanting God more, wanting Jesus more. We say no to all kinds of things for greater goods... It's not because those goods are bad. It's because I want the greatest good. Therefore my no to a cheeseburger, my no to these things is about a yes to God, to Jesus."

Richter and Dvorak both took part in the annual Chrism Mass led by Bishop David Kagen at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck. During the ceremony the Bishop blesses the Chrism oils used to bless three of the seven most important sacramental milestones in the life of a Catholic: baptism, confirmation and anointing of the sick and dying. In keeping with Trinity tradition, Dvorak accompanied a bus full of sixth graders and some high school seniors, to the ceremony. He said it's an important ritual for them to witness.

"It's a very special mass in that way, where the priests renew their promises as well, to the Bishop in obedience and respect to him, chaste celibacy and praying for the whole church," Dvorak said. "That's a very, kind of hidden element that not everyone in the diocese gets to experience."

Richter explained that what happened on Good Friday offers a stark dichotomy between two men and how they dealt with the heavy guilt of their sins. As laid out in the Gospel of Matthew, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus by giving him up to priests at the Temple in exchange for 30 pieces of silver. He immediately regretted this act, threw these coins on the Temple floor and subsequently committed suicide by hanging.

In light of how Judas left this world, the Vatican takes a strong stance on suicide — which it considers a sinful act against God's undying love.

According to paragraph 2281 of The Chatechism, "Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God."

Richter further elaborated on the events of Good Friday.

"On Good Friday, Judas betrays Jesus. And Peter denies Jesus three times on the same day, both grave failures on their part, both grave offenses against our Lord," he said. "The most important point is that Peter could trust in the mercy of Christ and Judas couldn't. Judas, his greatest offense was despair, not betrayal. If Judas turned to Jesus for mercy, as did Peter, he could have become Saint Judas. Jesus could have overcome his betrayal, and in fact did on the Cross."

Richter further underscored that like all of God's creation, Judas was not irredeemable.

"Peter turned to and trusted in the mercy of Jesus, and did not let his sin define him. Judas didn't turn to Jesus for mercy, and allowed his sin to define him. This is what Easter is about," he said. "Those who know the risen Christ, know that what defines them is not their sin but the love and mercy of Christ, which has conquered sin... Light has defeated darkness. Truth has defeated lies. Christ has defeated the prince of death."

Fr. Martin Nagy, parish priest for the Ukrainian Catholic Churches St. John's in Belfield and

St. Demetrius

in Fairfield, emphasized that it's also a time of great joy, citing the Paschal homily of St. John Chrysotom.

"He says if you've kept the fast, come rejoice. If you were late to come to the fast, rejoice. Even if you missed the fast, come rejoice. The doors are open. Jesus descended to the dead, broke the doors of hell," Nagy said. "Hell cannot hold us now. The only thing that will hold in hell is if we've refused to love and believe in Jesus. There's no sin that can hold us."

Ukrainian Catholics have many unique Easter traditions within his branch of the faith. For example, they dye some of their eggs red to commemorate the resurrection, and one of their holy icons shows Mary Magdalene holding a red egg.

Ukrainians also have a long

tradition

of decorating pysanky eggs, using melted beeswax using a wooden stylus with a copper tip, known in Ukrainian as a "kistka." A raw egg is drained and blown out, then varnished to make it strong and shiny.

"Every season was some sort of greeting. In normal times we just say, 'Glory to Jesus Christ, glory forever.' But through the entire Easter season. Now, whenever we eat at church or even see each other on the street, one person will say Christ is risen.' And the other person will say, 'He is risen indeed,'" Nagy explained.

He added that when he was in Lviv, Ukraine, a couple years ago during Lent, that's how everyone greeted him instead of saying hello.