Cycle C - Year II:

17 April 2022: Easter Sunday of the Lord's Resurrection 

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Acts 10:34, 37-43

Second Reading:   Colossians 3:1-4

Gospel:  Please Read  John 20:1-9 

"The Lord is risen!"

TODAY's liturgy joyfully greets us and the whole of humanity with this great news: "The Lord is risen, Alleluia!"  The universal Church celebrates Easter Sunday with Holy Mass to proclaim to the whole world the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a great day of rejoicing for all Christians!  From the Vigil Mass of Holy Saturday, our joy shines forth when the very first Mass of Easter begins with the joyful singing again of the "Gloria" and the triumphant ringing of bells. The "Gloria" part of the Mass was not heard since the start of the Lenten Season, and the bells were silent after the Mass of the Last Supper.

The evangelist John brings us the Good News on Easter Sunday. This is the gist of what he proclaims:

When Mary Magdala came to visit the tomb of Jesus early morning on the third day, she saw the stone cover already removed from the entrance of the tomb, and the tomb empty.  She went back hurriedly to the other disciples and reported what she saw.  Simon Peter and John went with Mary again to the empty tomb. They saw the burial clothes there, and the cloth that covered Jesus' head neatly rolled up in a separate place. They believed that the Lord is risen, even when they did not yet fully understand what is written in the Scriptures that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

The Resurrection of Jesus is the very corner stone of our Christian faith.   If Jesus did not rise to redeem us from sin, everything we did during the Holy Week, and everything we do now, is going to be meaningless.

Easter Sunday in our Catholic faith is the greatest feast (festum festorum), or the principal feast of the ecclesiastical year.  Our Lord's Resurrection is a concrete and historical event which is the strength and foundation of Christianity.  We celebrate this event with so much joy as it represents the fulfillment of our faith as Christians.

From the time of the first apostles to our generation, we too believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is risen, indeed, Alleluia! Alleluia!  In every Eucharistic celebration at Mass to this day we share in Jesus' Paschal Mystery, meaning, in our Lord's Passion, Death and Resurrection.  We encounter the risen Christ again in the Holy Eucharist.  So that Easter invites us to be witnesses to the whole world that our Lord Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead!

What is the significant of the Easter event to all of us today?

As we listen to the Easter Gospel proclamation by John, we will bring with us the faith and hope in Jesus' Resurrection. After the anguish of the last few days, it is the time of unbounded joy. Jesus is risen and He is never to die again!

The great gifts of Easter are Hope and Faith.  HOPE, which makes us have the confidence in God, in His ultimate triumph, and in His goodness and love, which nothing can shake.  FAITH, the belief that Christ has triumphed over evil.  We celebrate the mystery of Resurrection, proclaim our faith and hope, and give thanks for these gifts.

The Resurrection of our Lord is our guarantee that God  can overcome anything even death.  Our faith allows us to trust that our God can overcome even our most serious problems and fear during this pandemic.   

The Easter spirit is one of renewal that enables us to have a hopeful and positive attitude, to renew relationships that have been taken for granted, including our relationship with God, and to express appreciation and affection to those closest to us.  Easter allows us to see the world through new eyes, God's eyes, when life comes back to normal again after this pandemic.

Happy Easter Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!