"Easter is a day of celebration because it represents the fulfillment of our faith as Christians. St. Paul wrote that, unless Christ rose from the dead, our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:17). Through his death, Christ saved mankind from bondage to sin, and He destroyed the hold that death has on all of us; but it is His Resurrection that gives us the promise of new life, both in this world and the next."
From the Catholic Catechism:
Christ's
death is the unique and definitive sacrifice
613 Christ's death is both the Paschal sacrifice [Passover Lamb Sacrifice] that accomplishes the definitive
redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world",439 and
the sacrifice of the New
Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to
God through the "blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for
the forgiveness of sins".440
614 This sacrifice of Christ is unique; it completes and
surpasses all other acrifices.441 First,
it is a gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son over to
sinners in order to reconcile us with himself. At the same time it is the
offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and love offered his life
to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation [the act of making amends, offering
expiation, or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury] for our disobedience.442
615 "For as by one man's disobedience many were made
sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous."443 By his obedience unto death, Jesus
accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who "makes himself
an offering for sin",
when "he bore the sin of many", and who "shall make many to be
accounted righteous", for "he shall bear their iniquities".444 Jesus atoned for our faults and made
satisfaction for our sins to the Father.445
616 It is love "to the end"446 that confers on Christ's sacrifice its
value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and
loved us all when he offered his life.447 Now "the love of Christ controls
us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have
died."448 No man,
not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and
offer himself as a sacrifice for all. The existence in Christ of the divine
person of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons, and
constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive
sacrifice for all.
651 "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."521 The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ's works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by his Resurrection has given the definitive proof of his divine authority, which he had promised.
652 Christ's Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life.522 The phrase "in accordance with the Scriptures"523 indicates that Christ's Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.
653 The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he."524 The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly "I AM", the Son of God and God himself. So St. Paul could declare to the Jews: "What God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.'"525 Christ's Resurrection is closely linked to the Incarnation of God's Son, and is its fulfillment in accordance with God's eternal plan.
654 The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God's grace, "so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."526 Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace.527 It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ's brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: "Go and tell my brethren."528 We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.
655 Finally, Christ's Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."529 The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment. In Christ, Christians "have tasted. . . the powers of the age to come"530 and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may "live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."530
Footnotes:
439 Jn 1:29; cf. 8:34-36; 1 Cor 5:7; 1 Pet 1:19.
440 Mt 26:28; cf. Ex 24:8; Lev 16:15-16; 1 Cor 11:25.
441 Cf. Heb 10:10.
442 Cf. Jn 10:17-18; 15:13; Heb 9:14; 1 Jn 4:10.
443 Rom 5:19.
444 Isa 53:10-12.
445 Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1529.
446 Jn 13:1.
447 Cf. Gal 2:20; Eph 5:2, 25.
448 2 Cor 5:14.
521 1 Cor 15:14.
522 Cf. Mt 28:6; Mk 16:7; Lk 24:6-7,26-27,44-48.
523 Cf. 1 Cor 15:3-4; cf. the Nicene Creed.
524 Jn 8:28.
525 Acts 13:32-33; cf. Ps 2:7.
526 Rom 6:4; cf. 4:25.
527 Cf. Eph 2:4-5; 1 Pet 1:3.
528 Mt 28:10; Jn 20:17.
529 1 Cor 15:20-22.
530 Heb 6:5.
531 2 Cor 5:15; cf. Col 3:1-3.
522 Cf. Mt 28:6; Mk 16:7; Lk 24:6-7,26-27,44-48.
523 Cf. 1 Cor 15:3-4; cf. the Nicene Creed.
524 Jn 8:28.
525 Acts 13:32-33; cf. Ps 2:7.
526 Rom 6:4; cf. 4:25.
527 Cf. Eph 2:4-5; 1 Pet 1:3.
528 Mt 28:10; Jn 20:17.
529 1 Cor 15:20-22.
530 Heb 6:5.
531 2 Cor 5:15; cf. Col 3:1-3.
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