I imagine you sang “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today” complete with trumpets on Easter Sunday morning. I hope you sing it again regardless of the date on the calendar. After all, Jesus is risen. Jesus is always risen. What we sing about is the reality. It’s the perennial, non-stop Paschal Mystery. Whatever Jesus did is present in Christ.

I like to tell students to think of a kaleidoscope with its many pieces. Those pieces are the life of Christ, the Paschal Mystery. As we turn the kaleidoscope we see different patterns, different colors, but it’s all the Paschal Mystery. The difference is the focus. We may focus on the passion of Christ in Holy Week, then his resurrection throughout the Easter Season, his birth at Christmas, his miracles and sermons in Ordinary Time. But it’s all the Paschal Mystery. That’s what we celebrate every day of the year. A professor I had (Robert Taft) would often state “Every day is everything. Every day is Christmas. Every day is Easter. Every day is everything.” So Jesus Christ is risen today. Sing it out! It’s the truth! It’s today. Shakespeare might say “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,” but the reality of our faith is “today and today and today.” And it certainly doesn’t come in petty pace.