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After a long Lent, we rejoice in the beautiful signs of spring heralding the great feast of Easter—the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who came to bring light into the world and to spare us from darkness.

The whole Church community unites and connects throughout the world each year during the Easter Triduum by gathering in darkness and slowly moving toward the light. We bless fire, water, and all of the glorious gifts that God has bestowed upon us since the dawn of time. We use these gifts throughout the year to remind us again and again that God loves us tremendously. He suffered, died, and rose for each of us—making us children of the light.

“By a tradition handed down from the apostles which took its origin from the very day of Christ’s Resurrection, the Church celebrates the Paschal Mystery every seventh day, which is appropriately called the Lord’s Day or Sunday.” [1]

Each and every Sunday throughout the year we gather and recall what was given to us on the great Sunday of Easter—the great and perfect gift of eternal life. Sunday is the “pre-eminent day for the liturgical assembly” when all of God’s people gather to celebrate the Eucharist, “thus calling to mind the Passion, Resurrection, and glory of the Lord Jesus, and giving thanks to God who has ‘begotten them again, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ unto a living hope.” [2]

We draw our strength each day throughout the year from the “Feast of Feasts and the Solemnity of Solemnities,” what Saint Athanasius called “The Great Sunday”—Easter. From the first joyful proclamation of the ALLELUIA at the Easter Vigil, we sing the praises of God who delivered us from our enemies and continues to do so throughout our life’s journey. Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas remind us we are called to be ALLELUIA people, so that we never forget the sweetness of the first time we proclaim ALLELUIA after our long Lenten observance.

How appropriate it is to celebrate Child Abuse Prevention Month during this holy time. Not only is it important to remember the many things we have done and continue to do to prevent child sexual abuse in the Church, it is crucial to remember what Augustine and Aquinas preached so long ago—to remember that each and every one of us has been redeemed and is loved into being and will live eternally with God whose love has made it all possible.

Alleluia people are individuals whose gifts, talents, challenges, and personhood is celebrated totally in everything they do—in all they say and in how they approach life’s blessings and woes. Alleluia people are centered in the heart of the resurrection of Jesus and dwell in the light bringing forth peace, justice, harmony, and reconciliation to all they encounter. Alleluia people are children who sing and dance with joy. They have no worry about the pitch of their song or the step of their dance. Alleluia people are adults who are present, in the moment, to each and every person, place, and thing that meets them on their journey

Alleluia people are also those who are not yet able to sing or dance or shout aloud, but do so quietly in their hearts and wait, hope, and yearn for the day when they can join others in the song. Alleluia people are children and vulnerable persons who have been or are being abused. They long for the light to come into their lives and free them from darkness.

When we embrace our Easter Alleluia, we can not help but to embrace all of the Alleluia People who share time and history with us. We can not suppress the desire to embrace all those in the Light, and most especially reach toward those hands that reach out from the darkness and beg for us to show them the way to wholeness and to the light.

“The Lord’s day, the day of the Resurrection, the day of Christians, is our day. It is called the Lord’s day because on it the Lord rose victorious to the Father…. Today the Light of the world is raised; today is revealed the Sun of Justice with healing in His rays.” [3]

Many of us have heard talk about the Church experiencing a very long Lent since 2002. The fact is, there have been many, many individuals, long before 2002 who have been living a daily Lent of sorrow and pain since the first moment of their abuse. Now is the season to celebrate the power of the Resurrection and the healing and magnificent ways it transforms each and every Sunday into a day that we remember our Christian call to be ALLELUIA PEOPLE—people who reach out into the dark and pull those who suffer into the Light.

We know what we have to do. We know we can do it. We know the way to do it. We know the steps, the warning signs, the grooming process, and the mind of predators. Now we must not falter or succumb to stumbling, we must pick ourselves up, and celebrate the fullness of what ALLELUIA means to the heart of every person. When the world presses upon us, on those days when we feel Easter Sunday is a million days away and we are in the darkest part of Lent, we must celebrate and sing, dance, and draw out from the darkness all those who need to be reminded or taught how to be ALLELUIA PEOPLE. If we fail to be an ALLELUIA from head to toe during the Easter Season of Light, how will we remember what to do when our lives are most dark and lonely?

Child Abuse Prevention Month comes at the right time of the liturgical year for certain. We begin the month by uncovering ourselves from the season of Lent; we embrace the passion and the cross, and finally we celebrate the glories of the resurrection. Then, we are blessed to have each and every Sunday to recall the joy, and the absolute necessity for all of us to be Alleluia People living in the Light.

[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church 1166, Second Edition, 1997

[2] ibid, 1167

[3] Saint Jerome , Pash.:CCL 78, 550