Easter's 50 Days - From Death to Life

For centuries, the wreath has been a sign of hospitality, a warm invitation into one’s home.  For the second year in a row, a group of women at St. Thomas Aquinas have come together to create living wreaths to hang outside the entrance of our Church during the season of Easter.  Living wreaths are wreaths which are created using live plants.  Typically made of small succulents, the wreaths are meant to last for a long time.  This is the reason we began making them.  We wanted an outdoor decoration that would last for the 50 days of Easter.

But there is another reason.  The Church prefers live plants, as stated in the U.S. Bishops’ Document Built of Living Stones:

The use of living flowers and plants, rather than artificial greens, serves as a reminder of

the gift of life God has given to the human community. Planning for plants and flowers should

include not only the procurement and placement but also the continuing care needed to sustain

living things.

This preference not only applies to flowers, but also to other items used in the liturgy, such as candles:

Candles for liturgical use should be made of wax. To safeguard authenticity and the full

symbolism of light, electric lights are not permitted as a substitute for candles.  Votive lights

are not to be electric…Above all, the paschal candle should be a genuine candle, the pre-eminent symbol of the light of Christ.

Clearly, the Church has a liturgical preference for the authentic, the real, the living. That’s because the human community that celebrates the liturgy is authentic, real and living.  But there is more.  Real plants and real candles also help to express death and resurrection.  Plants die and re-seed and wax melts.  Our candle stubs are donated to the Monastery in Conyers so that the monks there can recycle the wax and create new candles.  All of this is intended to help us be more aware of our share in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

So as we celebrate this Easter season, may our flowers and our candles be reminders of the Paschal Mystery and may our wreaths be a sign of God’s hospitality, welcoming the God’s hospitality welcoming guests from every corner of the globe.  Amen.  Alleuia!