In the Gospel of Mark, we hear how the holy women came to Christ’s tomb that first Easter morn, expecting to find there the body of Jesus buried. When they arrived, however, they found that the large stone in front of the tomb had been rolled back.
Upon entering the tomb, they saw an angel who said to them: “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you’” (Mk 16:6-7).
Filled with Easter faith, we gather at Mass every Sunday to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. “For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s Day” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2174). In the Eucharist, we encounter the Risen Christ who, by His resurrection, shows Himself to be our God and Lord. The Sunday celebration of the Eucharist is essential to our life of faith and hope.
The Lord Jesus knows that we face many daily difficulties and challenges in our lives. We experience suffering and sadness, darkness and death. His resurrection reveals that sin, suffering, and sadness do not have the final say. It reveals that God is in the business of bringing good out of evil, light out of darkness, and life out of death.
As we celebrate Easter this year, I pray and hope that our own faith in the Risen Christ may be rekindled, and that we will recommit ourselves to celebrating His resurrection and encountering Him in the Eucharist every Sunday at Mass. He is risen, alleluia!
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