Acts 10:34a, 37-43 | Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6b-8 | Jn 20:1-9

GROW AS A DISCIPLE | PRAY, STUDY, ENGAGE, SERVE

GROW: I love arriving to Mass early when the sacristan is preparing the altar, or even shortly after the prior Mass clears out. This is because I enjoy praying the rosary with fellow parishioners as well as having my choice of seat in the church, but there’s also something about the silence, the stillness that permeates the atmosphere during that time. Sitting alone with one’s thoughts tends to either disturb or flat-out bore many people, but consider the silence in a new light this Easter Sunday. Mary of Magdala visited Christ’s tomb only to find it empty; what was the tomb like after Christ had risen and left? I’d like to think the silence of the sanctuary before Mass is like the silence of the tomb: still, peaceful and, most of all, joyful, for our Savior conquered the grave. In a way, arriving early to a silent church is like Mary arriving to Jesus’ tomb and finding it empty. Soon, though, the church is filled with other believers – witnesses to the risen Christ who proclaim his victory over sin and death to share in the Eucharist before going out into the world to serve and make disciples.

GO EVANGELIZE | PRAYER, INVITATION, WITNESS, ACCOMPANIMENT

GO: After Mass, many of us are swept up in a dizzying Easter timeline full of brightness and pastels, rushing from Mass to Easter egg hunts to lunch or dinner that may leave kids and adults alike exhausted. But our Easter worship and traditions are important because they mark this day as the most joyful of all celebrations, indeed the greatest event in human history. The Lord Jesus is calling us to new life in him! We take this time to celebrate and reflect on what this means. After his resurrection, Jesus revealed himself over time to his Apostles. But before they saw Jesus and truly understood he had risen from the dead, they experienced great sadness and fear. In the same way for us, we must remember that there is no Easter without the suffering and darkness of Good Friday. St. Paul tells us in the second reading that, in order to celebrate the feast, we must “clear out the old yeast, so that [we] may become a fresh batch of dough.” We can’t celebrate with “the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness” – we must let Christ purify our hearts and fill them with his Truth.

WITNESS: Let the joy of Easter fuel a new resolve to be a witness to the Resurrection. Take Easter week to contemplate Scripture, to let Jesus fill your heart with his light and forgiveness so that you may bear his witness to those you encounter in the days and weeks to come.