Blessed be God.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit—fill us with joy,
set our hearts ablaze with Your presence.
We often hear people say
that Christmas and Easter are “about the kids.”
And yes—there is a sweetness to that.
When I was little, I woke up early on Easter morning
and ran to see what the Easter Bunny had brought—
dyed eggs, candy,
and usually a giant chocolate rabbit.
As I grew older, the gifts began to change.
I started receiving things of faith—
storybooks about Jesus,
a children’s Bible,
then a real leather Bible,
a cross to wear around my neck..
All these things—the candy, the gifts, the fun—
they’re for the kids,
and for those who are kids at heart.
But the reality of Christmas and Easter
is far bigger than childhood excitement.
These feasts are for the whole world—
for all creation.
And friends, I am not a child anymore.
Yet I woke up this morning excited—
even more than when I was young.
Because now I understand:
it’s not the basket,
not the gifts.
The truth of Easter is:
The empty tomb, the resurrection,
The moment that changed everything….
And that truth leads us straight to the Gospel
and the witness of Mary of Magdala
On the first day of the week, while it was still dark,
Mary Magdalene walked toward the tomb.
She wasn’t expecting a miracle.
She wasn’t expecting glory.
She was simply doing what love does—
showing up, even when hope feels gone.
She carried grief.
She carried questions.
She carried the memory of the One who healed her,
the One who spoke her name
with a tenderness no one else ever had.
And yet, when she arrives, nothing is as she expected.
The stone is rolled back.
The tomb is empty.
The silence of death has been broken.
Friends, the Resurrection
is the crowning truth of our faith—
the moment everything changes,
the moment God’s power is revealed
not in domination,
but in raising His Son from the dead
and opening the way of life for us
(CCC 638–648).
Mary doesn’t understand it yet.
Peter and the disciple Jesus loved,
saw but they did not understand.
None of us would have.
But Mary does something holy:
she stays.
She remains in the place of confusion
long enough for God to reveal something new.
And then—
as if heaven cannot wait another heartbeat—
Jesus stands before her.
Alive.
Radiant.
Calling her by name.
“Mary.”
And in that instant, everything changes.
Her grief becomes mission.
Her tears become testimony.
She becomes the first witness of the Resurrection—
the first to proclaim what the Church still proclaims today:
Christ is risen. Truly risen.
By Baptism
we are united to this very mystery (CCC 654).
We don’t admire the Resurrection from a distance.
We share in it.
We rise with Him.
We belong to the Living One.
So the question the angels asked Mary
is the question the Church asks us this morning:
“Why do you seek the living among the dead?”
Why do we keep returning
to the tombs of old sins,
old fears,
old identities that no longer define us?
Why do we look for life
in places that cannot give it?
Christ is not in the tomb.
And neither are you.
Easter is not a story we remember.
It is a life we receive—
a life stronger than death,
stronger than shame,
stronger than anything that tries to bury us.
So today,
let Mary Magdalene teach us how to live Easter:
Come to Jesus with honesty.
Let God surprise you.
Let Him call your name again.
And then go—
go tell the world that hope is alive,
that mercy is real,
that the tomb is empty,
and that Jesus Christ is risen.
When we are raised with Christ,
We seek what is above.
Be good.
Be holy.
May the Holy Spirit fill us with courage
to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ risen,
and make our life and our love
a witness to His victory.
Christ has risen. He has risen indeed.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
Risen and radiant,
Roll back every stone
that keeps me from Your life.
Let Your light break
into the dark places of my heart.
Free me from the tombs I still cling to.
Fill me with courage to run and proclaim.
Make my life a witness to Your victory.
Christ, my hope, my joy, my risen Lord—
Amen - Alleluia.
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