“Today, throughout the world, the Church’s proclamation resounds: “Jesus, who was crucified, has risen as he said. Alleluia!” The crucified Jesus, none other, has risen from the dead. God the Father raised Jesus, his Son, because he fully accomplished his saving will. Jesus took upon himself our weakness, our infirmities, even our death. He endured our sufferings and bore the weight of our sins. Because of this, God the Father exalted him and now Jesus Christ lives forever; he is the Lord. The witnesses report an important detail: the risen Jesus bears the marks of the wounds in his hands, feet and side. These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us. All those who experience a painful trial in body or spirit can find refuge in these wounds and, through them, receive the grace of the hope that does not disappoint.“

– Pope Francis

Collect

O God, who on this day, through your Only Begotten Son, have conquered death and unlocked for us the path to eternity, grant, we pray, that we who keep the solemnity of the Lord’s Resurrection may, through the renewal brought by your Spirit, rise up in the light of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Collecta

Deus, qui hodierna die, per Unigenitum tuum, æternitatis nobis aditum, devicta morte, reserasti, da nobis, quæsumus, ut, qui resurrectionis dominicæ sollemnia colimus, per innovationem tui Spiritus in lumine vitæ resurgamus. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

Today’s Gospel: John 20:1-9

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’

So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

A Meditation on The Resurrection

This meditation is written by Fr Lawrence Lew OP and extracted from our book Mysteries Made Visible: Praying the Rosary With Sacred Ar.

Death cannot contain Life. As the Easter Sequence says, “Mors et vita duello”, “Death and Life struggled in a wondrous war, the dead Lord of Life reigns and lives”. Hence the closure of the tomb is cracked open, and the grave itself stands empty, but it resembles an open door. As the Preface of the Dead intones, “for your faithful, Lord, life is changed not ended”, so thanks to the Risen Lord Jesus and in union with him, death becomes the gateway to eternal life. Truly, henceforth, we need not be afraid, even in the face of death – not if we have faith in the resurrection and are united to Christ through love. The women who came to the empty tomb early on the first Easter morning were seeking Christ with hearts full of love. We who pray the Rosary can do likewise, seeking the Lord with loving attentive hearts. The invitation to come and see the place where he lay is an invitation to faith, to believe, to trust in God’s Word. The women’s hands gesturing towards this place are likewise inviting us to believe in the power of God to conquer sin, death, and all that would terrorise us. Fittingly, this mosaic image does not show Christ climbing out of the tomb, as so many later images of the Resurrection would do. Rather, it has the reticence of the Gospel. The Resurrection is not seen by human eyes but is based on the testimony of another. Thus are we invited to faith, to trust in the word of others, and above all in the Word of him who is called the “faithful and true Witness” (Rv 3:14).

Image © Fr Lawrence Lew OP

This meditations is extracted from our book Mysteries Made Visible: Praying the Rosary With Sacred Art. Pray the Rosary more deeply with Fr Lawrence Lew’s stunning photographs of sacred art, which in turn inspire his contemplations of each Mystery of the Rosary.

For more stunning photography and inspirational contemplations on the mysteries of the Rosary, order your copy of Mysteries Made Visible: Praying the Rosary With Sacred Art today.

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