READ
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.
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UNDERSTAND | By Father Greg Friedman, OFM
“There is no tale ever told,” author J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote in an essay on storytelling, that people “would rather find was true.”
The Catholic author of The Lord of the Rings was speaking of the story of Jesus. Today, as we accompany Peter and the Beloved Disciple, making their way to the tomb, we might echo Professor Tolkien’s comment.
Our faith, as St. Paul tells the Corinthians, rests on the reality of Jesus’ Resurrection. We base everything on the truth of the story. But establishing that truth is not a matter of science, history or archaeology. It’s a matter of faith. We must call upon the Holy Spirit, who is present to the Church, to assist us.
In the Easter Gospels, we hear the witness of the first followers of Jesus: Jesus was risen; they had experienced him, alive in their midst. Their testimony in the Spirit moves us to a faith-filled “Alleluia.”
We live in a skeptical age. And yet in his essay, J.R.R. Tolkien pays tribute to the power of the Christian proclamation. He notes that there is no other story which so many skeptics “have accepted as true on its own merits.”
Our Easter Gospel is a story of living faith, in which we are participants, and to which we are now witnesses.
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DISCUSS | By Father Dan Kroger, OFM
This week’s first reading (Acts 10:34a, 37-43), is Peter’s summary of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Now, at the end of his preaching what is the focus of Peter’s words?
Who are the ones who are sent now to testify, to witness to the resurrection of Jesus?
In the second reading (Col 3:1-4), what does St. Paul urge his readers in Colossae to do?
What does Paul promise to those who think of Christ raised from the dead?
According to the Gospel (John 20:1-9), who was the first one to see that the stone covering Jesus’ tomb had been rolled back?
What did Mary of Magdala do?
Peter and John ran to the tomb. Who got there first?
What did the disciples find there at the tomb?
ACT
Because of COVID, many Easter celebrations will probably be smaller than usual. Despite that, prepare a dinner fitting of the joyous occasion that Easter is. Have everyone in the family help out to make it special.
Go outside and gather some of the flowers that have begun to bloom. Arrange them in a vase and place them on the table.
Plant some flowers in a pot. Place a stone in the pot amongst the flowers as a symbol of the stone that was rolled away from Christ’s tomb.
