From Death to New Life in Christ”

Today's Mass Readings

On this Tuesday in the Octave of Easter, we get to extend the celebration of Easter Sunday, until the end of the Octave next Sunday. Our celebration of Easter joy will continue, however, throughout the Easter season, and should remain in our hearts every moment of our lives, throughout all liturgical seasons, even in Lent. Today’s readings are powerful reflections on this Easter joy. In the Gospel reading for today, from St. John’s Gospel, we encounter the risen Lord with Mary Magdalene at the tomb. Mary Magdalene, the first to see the risen Lord, is known in Catholic tradition as the Apostle to the Apostles, since she was among the women who first brought the wonderful joyous news of Jesus’ resurrection to His apostles. This reading powerfully demonstrates the Easter joy of Christ’s resurrection. After the horrific and brutal death of Jesus on the cross, on Good Friday, Jesus has conquered death once and for all. Jesus has been raised from the dead.

Jesus’ resurrection, however, is much more than one individual coming back to life. Jesus’ resurrection has a cosmic dimension, and includes all of us. His body is a glorified body, which we will each receive in heaven. Since Christ has been raised, we too can have hope in the resurrection. Death shall not be the end of the story for us.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles wonderfully drives this message home for us. In it, St. Peter explains the hope found in Jesus. We no longer need remain dead in our sins. Through faith and baptism we enter into the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. This promise is for us and for our children; no matter our age, we may have hope in Christ through faith and the Sacraments. If we repent and are baptized, our sins shall be forgiven, we shall inhert eternal life, not eternal death.

This is the Easter message. It is a message of profound hope. Pope Benedict XVI’s second papal encyclical, Spe Salvi, “Saved by Hope,” describes Christian hope in detail. I would recommend reading his encyclical. But more importantly, I think it is important for us to continually remind ourselves of the hope we have in Christ. Hope is a virtue, and therefore it can take work to develop. Sometimes it is difficult to have hope. Let us pray that God will help us to continue to have hope no matter what situation we may find ourselves in. Today, let us spend some time in reflection meditating on the hope we have because of Easter. Let us also strive, on a daily basis, to help give others hope, and thereby share the Easter joy.

- Jeff Morrow