Easter Sunday
H. Iker Trillas Diaz, L.C.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Christ, our King, Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Jesus, increase my faith.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 20:1-9
On the first day after the Sabbath, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw the stone that closed it rolled away. She ran and came to the house where Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, were, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him”.
Peter and the other disciple went out on the way to the tomb. They both ran together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and came first to the tomb, and stooping down, he looked at the linen cloths laid on the ground, but did not go in.
Now Simon Peter also, who had been following him, came and entered the tomb. And he saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, and the shroud, which had been on Jesus' head, lying not with the linen cloths on the ground, but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had come first to the tomb, and he saw and believed, because until then they had not understood the scriptures, that Jesus must rise from the dead.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Resurrection Sunday! It's today! Every Sunday of the year is a feast because of what we celebrate today. It is the center of our faith. It is the sun that shines on the darkness. It is the victory of life over death. God who came down and took flesh, whom we crucified, is risen. He lives! Jesus lives. He is in you, he is in me. He calls us, he listens to us, he longs for us, he loves us.
Peter and John are locked up, afraid, traumatized by the devastating death of their Jesus. Let's think how strong the death of a loved one is. And how it must have hit the poor apostles. They are human like you and me and this may escape us knowing the story. But it is a trauma what they went through and saw. And it affects the human and the spiritual.
Faith is dormant, hope is frozen by the force of evil and sin turned upon their Friend. They were in the twilight, had the Light ceased, were they waiting for the third day?
Until Mary Magdalene, bearer of the Good News, announces that the body is gone and the tomb is empty. But how can it be if they themselves put the body in the tomb. They closed the tomb with the stone. They saw that the lifeless body was there. How reality plays with our faith. It makes us doubt whether I believe in Jesus or not. Whether it is worth believing in Jesus or not.
When they heard Mary Magdalene they ran away. There was a little light left inside them and they would like it to be a forest fire inside their soul. When they arrive they see and believe. They believe in the Word that Jesus had told them before. They believe in the prophets, they believe in the promises made throughout Israel's history. The Messiah, their Friend, is risen.
Let us also believe strongly that Jesus is alive. In this way we remove the doubts with which the devil wants to tempt us. Thus we can listen to Him, thus we dispose our soul to enter into contact with Him today, two thousand years later, let our soul run to Jesus, because it longs for Him. Let it fly to Jesus because it desires Him. Let us give Jesus room to dwell in us. Let us have today the faces of Easter Sunday that spread the joy of Jesus.
«And in him we too have risen from death to life, from the slavery of sin to the freedom of love. Let us, therefore, allow ourselves to be reached by the consoling message of Easter and to be enveloped by its glorious light, which disperses the darkness of fear and sadness. The risen Jesus walks beside us. He manifests himself to those who call upon him and love him. First of all, in prayer, but also in simple joys lived with faith and gratitude. On this feast day, when it is customary to enjoy a little distraction and gratuitousness, let us help ourselves to experience the presence of Jesus. Let us ask the Virgin Mary to be able to touch with full hands the peace and serenity of the Risen One, to share them with our brothers and sisters, especially with those who are most in need of consolation and hope.»
(Regina coeli of H.H. Francis, April 22, 2019).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
To have an Easter Sunday face (a smile for everyoneJ).
Farewell
We thank You, Lord, for all Your benefits, You who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
