This means that the created world has been brought back "into communion with God," he said, and that realization should change how we see everything.
"I would think the first best way to celebrate the season is to go to daily Mass. That is bar none, the best," Fr. Chrysostom said. "Because it really puts you in the mind of the Church, with regard to the season. The prayers change every day, but they're all focused on the Resurrection."
Catholics should also continue any good practices they fostered during Lent like prayer or almsgiving, he insisted, and should give attention to virtues they cultivated from Lenten penance.
"The Easter Season is for fostering those virtues that you've planted during Lent, and allowing them to grow," he said. This requires taking "concrete steps" and not just vague promises to ensure that good habits are maintained, he added.
For instance, if someone gave alms during Lent, they could resolve to give money to the poor a certain number of times per week, he said.
However, Easter shouldn't just be lived at church, but "it's got to live out in our everyday lives," Fr. Hezekias told CNA. There must be a "more intense realization that every aspect of my life has come into communion with God."
"What about reading the Gospel in our homes or singing the Gospel in our homes before we bless the food at the dinner of that Sunday?" he suggested.
Another way to do this is for Catholics throw a party, he said, which we can enjoy in a new way having first fasted during Lent.
"The reason the Church has us set aside meat [during Lent] is because we've become dependent on those things," Fr. Hezekias explained. "The key to the celebration of Easter and Pascha is the re-ordering in our life, that now I eat meat as a gift from God," he said.
If someone has given up meat for 40 days, he explained, they will appreciate its goodness all the more: "Suddenly they take a bite of meat, and what do you say? 'Thank you, God!'"
And Catholics should party together.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
At Catholic News Agency, our team is committed to reporting the truth with courage, integrity, and fidelity to our faith. We provide news about the Church and the world, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church. When you subscribe to the CNA UPDATE, we'll send you a daily email with links to the news you need and, occasionally, breaking news.
As part of this free service you may receive occasional offers from us at EWTN News and EWTN. We won't rent or sell your information, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
"I think what makes a feast really a feast is that it's shared, with friends," Fr. Chrysostom said, and where drinks served "heightens the conviviality and the joy."
"Everyone should be asking themselves right now, who should I invite to my home [during the Easter Season]?" Fr. Hezekias said. They should also consider inviting the newly baptized at their parish over to their homes.
"We've forgotten our ability as Christians to go out and really have a party," he said. "Our society is starving because of that. We're the ones who are supposed to be showing everyone else what true joy is, but unfortunately we've forgotten it ourselves."
"We've got to re-discover that for the sake of society."
This article was originally published on CNA April 18, 2017.
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.