Cycle A - Year I:  

9 April 2023: Easter Sunday of the Lord's Resurrection 

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Acts 10:34, 37-43

Second Reading:   Colossians 3:1-4 (1 Cor. 5:6-8)

Gospel:  Please Read  John 20:1-9 

The Lord is risen, Alleluia!

The universal Church joyfully celebrates Easter Sunday of the Lord's Resurrection today! In all Masses we hear the presiding priest joyfully greets humanity with this great news:"The Lord is risen, Alleluia!"

This is a great day of celebration to proclaim to the whole world the great event of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Our joy shines forth from the Vigil Mass of Easter when the very first Mass of the Easter Season began with the singing again of the "Gloria" and triumphant ringing of bells. 

St. John the Evangelist brings us the Good News. The gist of the Gospel narrative for Easter:

When Mary Magdala came to visit the tomb of Jesus early morning of the third day, she saw the stone cover already removed from the entrance of the tomb, and the tomb empty.  Hurriedly she want back 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's head neatly rolled up in a separate place.  They believed that the Lord is risen.

By rising from the dead, Jesus Christ fulfilled His own promise to do so and solidified the pledge He made to His followers that they too would be raised from the dead to experience eternal life.

The Resurrection of Jesus is one event upon which all of history turns. It is an event attested well enough that millions of people believe.

Jesus' resurrected body was different from His physical body. It was no longer subject to the same laws of nature. He would transcends locked doors and yet He would still be touched, or He would eat.

The apostles who were eye-witnesses to the risen Christ experienced dramatic changes in their lives after meeting Him, ruling out any possibility that the resurrection story is just an invented one.

For us who believe the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the very corner stone of our Christian faith. Because if Jesus did not rise to redeem us from sin, then everything we did during the Holy Week, and everything we do now is going to be meaningless.

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

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

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, as we continue with our journey in this world.

In the Catholic faith, Easter Sunday 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.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!