Gospel: (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…When Simon Peter went into the tomb and he 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, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Reflection:
Even on this day when the gospel announces the risen Lord, we feel the contradictions that the resurrection mystery arouses—seeing and believing on the one hand, misunderstanding and confusion on the other. This mystery defies all human understanding. The Easter stories tells us that the resurrection isn’t something we understand, but believe and live. The challenge really lies in seeing and believing the resurrection comes through our own lives of self-sacrifice that bring new life to others. (Living Liturgy, p.108)

Vincentian Meditation:
On Easter Sunday Jesus rose gloriously from the tomb and in doing so He has given us, who believe in Him, an assurance that we, too, will, by His power, rise from the dead. There are people who say that there will be no resurrection, that there is nothing after death. When next you hear this, think of springtime. During the long hard winter, you wonder “Will spring ever come this year?” The ground was frozen hard and there was not
a sign of life in the fields or on the trees. But now everything is changing. Flowers are appearing, the wheat is growing in the fields and leaves are beginning to appear on the trees. No human power can keep back springtime. Since the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the first signs of an eternal springtime have begun to appear. Each of us has met Christians who, despite great suffering that cannot be explained, have continued to
believe that death is not the end. These people are signs for us that Jesus Christ has really risen.(McCullen, Deep Down Things, p. 220)

Discussion: (Share your thoughts after a moment of silence)
Who are the “Easter” people you have known?

Closing Prayer:
Lord, in your resurrection, you turned unbelief to belief,
-increase our faith.
Lord, in your resurrection, you brought joy to the disciples,
– fill us with joy.
Lord, in your resurrection, there is hope for a suffering world,
-enliven our hope. Amen