In 1969 the General Norms for the Liturgical Year was approved by Pope Paul VI which implemented the reforms of Vatican II. This is what those norms say about the Easter season:
- The fifty days from the Sunday of the Resurrection to Pentecost Sunday are celebrated in joy and exultation as one feast day, indeed as one “great Sunday.” These are the days above all others in which the Alleluia is sung.
- The Sundays of this time of year are considered to be Sundays of Easter and are called, after Easter Sunday itself, the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Sundays of Easter. This sacred period of fifty days concludes with Pentecost Sunday.
- The first eight days of Easter Time constitute the Octave of Easter and are celebrated as Solemnities of the Lord.
- On the fortieth day after Easter the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated, except where, not being observed as a Holyday of Obligation, it has been assigned to the Seventh Sunday of Easter (cf. no. 7).
- The weekdays from the Ascension up to and including the Saturday before Pentecost prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
In summary, the whole 50 days of Easter is like one long Sunday when we sing Alleluia with all our heart. There are 7 Sundays of Easter (not after Easter) and the season concludes with Pentecost Sunday. The first 8 days of the Easter season are the “Octave of Easter” and all 8 days are celebrated as solemnities. Ascension is celebrated on day 40 although here in the US, most bishops move it to the closest Sunday.
The Easter season is unique in our liturgical calendar: Advent and Lent prepare us for an upcoming solemnity; Easter prolongs the solemnity. The JOY of Easter simply cannot be contained!
Lent and Easter are a time when we tell our stories – we remind ourselves who we are and where we came from. During Lent that meant going back to the earliest stories of our Jewish roots.
During the Sundays of Easter we don’t read from the Old Testament at all; rather, we replace that with readings from the book of Acts. We’re still telling our stories – but now it’s the story of the very first Christian communities as well as the spread of the gospel.
In the Easter season, the readings are chosen to complement the overall theme of Easter. They don’t necessarily relate directly to each other, but they all complement one other and relate to the theme of Easter.
The first 3 Sundays of Easter, the Gospel will focus on the resurrection and the 4th Sunday of Easter will always be about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The remaining 3 Sundays will be in John’s Last Supper Discourse and they speak to our participation in the ongoing mission activity of the church.