April 20, 2014 – The Resurrection of the Lord/The Mass of Easter Sunday
Acts 10: 34A, 37-43; Ps 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Col 3: 1-4; Jn 20: 1-9
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” This refrain from Psalm 118 rings throughout the Church on this glorious Easter Sunday. His Holiness Pope Francis will echo that by proclaiming “He is risen!” from the balcony of St. Peter Basilica.
In today’s Gospel reading from John the empty tomb is described and emphasized. Although Peter and John, upon inspecting the tomb “saw and believed,” it was not the empty tomb that they began to proclaim throughout Judea and beyond, it was the Lord’s Resurrection.
That is the reason for our joy. For us as Catholics and Christians, this is the hope promised us by Christ. We are all familiar with that familiar phrase: “faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.” That is a formula for being a good steward as in sharing our love we fulfill our roles as disciples of Christ. To that formula on this magnificent Easter, we can add “Joy.”
Jesus fully understood the purpose of His life on earth. He endured the Cross for us with that purpose in mind. We each need to seek, find, and carry out the joy-filled purpose for our own lives.
