Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Gospel Reading: John 20:1-9

Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of Christ risen
- Mother Teresa

During Lent we were invited to prepare ourselves to reflect and remember Jesus’ death and Resurrection through Lenten sacrifices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. This Sunday we enter the Season of Easter; the Church asks us to reflect on Jesus’ Resurrection and it means for us as His disciples today.

Our Gospel today tells us about the disciples' discovery of the empty tomb. It concludes by telling us that they did not yet understand that Jesus had risen from the dead. Thus, the details provided are not necessarily meant to offer proof of the Resurrection. The details invite us to reflect upon a most amazing gift, that is faith in Jesus and his Resurrection.

Each of the four Gospels tells us that Jesus' empty tomb was first discovered by women. This is notable because in first-century Jewish society women could not serve as legal witnesses. In the case of John's Gospel, the only woman attending the tomb is Mary of Magdala.

The Gospel passage concludes, however, that even having seen the empty tomb, the disciples do not yet understand about the Resurrection. In the weeks ahead, the Gospel readings from our liturgy will show us how the disciples came to believe in Jesus' Resurrection through his appearances to them.

At Easter, God finally reveals His glory;
He takes away the last veil and astonished us as never before.
We discover, in fact, that God’s glory is all love: pure love, mad and unthinkable, beyond every limit and measure.
True Glory is the glory of love, because it is the only one that give life to the world.
- Pope Francis