FIRST READING (We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.)

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (10:34a, 37-43)

Peter proceeded to speak and said: “You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.” —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23)

R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. (Ps 118:24)

Or Alleluia.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” (R)

“The right hand of the Lord has struck with power; the right hand of the Lord is exalted. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” (R)

The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. (R)

SECOND READING (Seek what is above, where Christ is.)

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians (3:1-4)

Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

Or

SECOND READING (Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough.)

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (5:6b-8)

Brothers and sisters: Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

SEQUENCE

Christians, to the Paschal Victim

Offer your thankful praises!

A Lamb the sheep redeems;

Christ, who only is sinless,

Reconciles sinners to the Father.

Death and life have contended

in that combat stupendous:

The Prince of life, who died,

reigns immortal.

Speak, Mary, declaring

What you saw, wayfaring.

“The tomb of Christ, who is living,

the glory of Jesus’ resurrection;

Bright angels attesting,

The shroud and napkin resting.

Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;

To Galilee he goes before you.”

Christ indeed

from death is risen,

our new life obtaining.

Have mercy, victor King,

ever reigning!

Amen. Alleluia!

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (1 Cor 5:7b-8a)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed; let us then feast with joy in the Lord. (R)

(The Gospel from the Easter Vigil may also be read in place of the following Gospels at any time of the day.)

GOSPEL (He had to rise from the dead.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (20:1-9)

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead. —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

– Or –

GOSPEL (He has been raised from the dead and is going before you to Galilee.)
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (28:1-10)

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid! Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

– Or –

(At an evening Mass the following Gospel may be used as an Alternative.)

GOSPEL (They recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (24:13-35)

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his Body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

The Creed is said.

However, in Easter Sunday Masses which are celebrated with a congregation, the rite of the renewal of baptismal promises may take place after the Homily, according to the text used at the Easter Vigil. In that case the Creed is omitted. 

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS

Exultant with paschal gladness, O Lord,

we offer the sacrifice

by which your Church

is wondrously reborn and nourished.

Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

PREFACE I OF EASTER

(The Paschal Mystery)

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

at all times to acclaim you, O Lord,

but on this day above all

to laud you yet more gloriously,

when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.

For he is the true Lamb

who has taken away the sins of the world;

by dying he has destroyed our death,

and by rising, restored our life.

Therefore, overcome with paschal joy,

every land, every people exults in your praise

and even the heavenly Powers, with the angelic hosts,

sing together the unending hymn of your glory,

as they acclaim:

When the Roman Canon is used, the proper forms of the Communicantes (In communion with those) and Hanc igitur (Therefore, Lord, we pray) are said.

HOMILY

Our Paschal Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed!

We began our Easter celebrations last evening with a much quieter celebration of the Easter Vigil, celebrated for the first time since I arrived here without any adult baptisms, and in the awkward status we have experienced since late January, of an empty church. And yet, turning back again to the figure of Blessed Titus Brandsma, I thought of his own celebrations of the liturgical feasts and seasons missed while imprisoned and facing death. Inspired by other Carmelite mystics such as St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila, rather than see what was missed, he learned to celebrate what IS – The Lord is Risen! He is truly Risen! This is Easter for all of us in a short, simple phrase.

And because of the importance of this event, our celebration continues this morning with the Easter celebration, the most important day in our liturgical calendar. 

One way of looking at this event is to consider how we – men and women of faith in the Resurrection of the body – would feel if we went to visit the grave of a loved one and discovered that the grave was opened, desecrated and the body gone. Most of us would suspect grave robbers. It is therefore not surprising the Mary, Peter and John came to the same conclusion when they arrived and saw the tomb of Jesus. After all, dead bodies don’t just get up and walk away.

Throughout the ages, people have been interested in what happened to the body of Jesus, but there is no biblical account that directly tells us. All we know is that his followers found that the tomb was empty, and some people claimed that they saw Jesus afterward. Our readings today mention both of these details. The Gospel passage focuses on the empty tomb; Peter’s speech in Acts states that the Risen Lord was visible to the disciples. These traditions are less interested in details of the resurrection itself than in what it meant and continues to mean to us.

Peter traces the life of Jesus all the way to his death and resurrection. His purpose is to show that this man Jesus was “the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.” He was God’s Chosen One, the Christ, the one through whom fulfillment appeared. If anyone claimed such an exalted position and died, the claim would most likely die with that person. But to make the claim – then die and rise from the dead gave legitimacy to that claim. On what grounds did Peter make such claims? The very life and teaching of Jesus made them. Now that he was raised from the dead, those who witnessed his life and death were commissioned to give witness to his resurrection. We may not know what happened to Jesus, but we can see what happened to those witnesses. They fearlessly preached what initially they had not understood. 

Paul’s teaching about the Resurrection from our 2^nd reading focuses on Christ’s exaltation at the right hand of God. Here too Paul is less interested in how Jesus reached the right hand of God than in the more profound implications of the resurrection and exaltation for the lives of Christians. Paul maintains that those who are joined to Christ die with Christ to this life, are raised with Christ to a life with God, and will eventually share in the glory of Christ’s exaltation.

The sequence of the theological issues found in today’s Easter readings  is liturgical rather than chronological. What I mean is that at first, the followers of Jesus lacked understanding of what had happened, as we see in the Gospel. Only later did preachers such as Peter and Paul give testimony to their faith in the resurrection. What happened to cause this change in them? It was probably an experience of the RISEN LORD! And this answer then throws us back to the initial questions: “What happened?”

Skeptics demand proof that Jesus rose from the dead. The readings for today provide us with three places where we can seek that proof. 

The first is the fact that the tomb was empty. But this – for many – is questionable evidence, because the empty tomb simply means that the body of Jesus was gone; not that he was risen. 

The second piece of evidence is found in the resurrection appearances. This is also rather weak evidence, because the authenticity of mystical experience is often very difficult to prove. Though it is questionable as proof, at least an empty tomb is concrete. While it may be even weaker evidence, a personal experience is real to the one experiencing it, but only to that one.

The third place to look for evidence of the resurrection is the least concrete, but probably the most reliable. It is found in the quality of the lives of those who live out their faith in the resurrection. We see this clearly in the transformation of Peter, who went from misunderstanding the scriptures to interpreting them through the lens of the resurrection. We see it also in Paul, who had set out to put the followers of Jesus – Christians – to death, only to become the champion of “dying and rising with Christ.”

We see what happened in the lives of countless women and men today who are examples of extraordinary integrity in the midst of a world filled with deceit, or of examples of dedicated service in a world filled with selfishness, or of patience and understanding in the face of violence, and of forgiveness and reconciliation where there has been personal violation. Such lives are evidence that Jesus has risen from the dead and is alive in the world today.

So, what are we to make of this wondrous day? How are we to understand the mystery we celebrate? This is the day on which we celebrate the fact of faith that Jesus was willing to die for us but was not willing to stay dead. By rising, he shattered the hold that death had over all of us. It couldn’t keep him down. And through Baptism, we are joined to him so neither can death keep us down. We are “Easter people” when we put on new lives, not merely new clothes. By the grace of God, someday, the power of Easter will so transform us in such a way that people will wonder: “What happened?”

PRAYERS

Celebrant: The Lord is Risen! Let us place our needs before God our Father, rejoicing because Christ has triumphed over death and entered into glory.

READER: For Francis our Pope, and Stephen our Bishop, successors to the apostles in the Church today, commissioned to preach to the people, that like Peter, they boldly proclaim the resurrection of Christ and the forgiveness of sins in His name, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For new believers everywhere and especially those who were baptized into our community in past Easter seasons, as well as those to be baptized later this Easter season, that their witness of the resurrection be a source of joy and hope for all of us, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For all who have dedicated their lives to God, that they may “look for the things that are in heaven,” and be Christ’s witnesses in the world, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For those unjustly deprived of their freedom, especially their freedom to worship, that they may draw fresh hope of freedom from the mystery of the Resurrection, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For those who have died, especially in this past year, that they may rise to eternal life in Christ, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Almighty Father, your beloved Son has risen from the dead, as he promised us. In peace and joy we present our prayers to you, through the same risen Lord, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. (all) AMEN.