Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection April 20, 2025
Easter Sunday
20th April 2025 (Sunday)
Psalter: Proper
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Acts 10:34a, 37-43
In those days: Peter opened his mouth and said: “You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and caused him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Psalm 118:1-2, 15c-17, 22-23 (R. 24)
R/. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. Or: Alleluia.
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
Brethren: If you have been raised with Christ, Seek, the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
V/.Christ, our passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival in the Lord
R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
Gospel : John 20:1-9
On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Easter Sunday
Opener: Our Lord risen is the Fount of Life. Death and evil have no sway over him. He is the conqueror and victor
1. Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ is the greatest testimony of Life. God is life, and our God is a “living” God, the Emmanuel, God-with-us. No power of Satan, no fetters of death, no forces of evil, no closure of the tomb, can restrain him from rising, or separate him from living with us. He lives with us forever, because he is Life and ever alive. His rising assures and comforts us that sin and death have no power over him. Evil seems to have a loud and mocking laugh over good, but that is only short-lived. The Final smile is of God and of good.
2. Thus the Easter Feast is truly a Victory Day. It is not something peripheral or superficial. It is not just God’s victory over Satan, not just Saviour’s victory over the Evil one, not just the Holy Spirit’s over the evil spirit. It is not a “personal score” that is settled between God and Evil. But something fundamental and foundational, crucial and essential.
3. The victory of Easter involves the whole creation, the whole humanity. It touches upon the whole life, the whole person, the whole destiny. It is a comprehensive and holistic victory. It is the victory of all of us. It is the victory of our faith. It is the victory of good over evil, of love over hate, of mercy over violence, of benevolence over condemnation, of humility over arrogance, of patience over fury, of altruism over egoism, of generosity over greed, of sharing over accumulation, of giving over grabbing, of detachment over clinging, of nobility over fragility, of forgiveness over revenge, of loyalty over disloyalty, of stability over instability, of conviction over compromise, of authenticity over duplicity, of integrity over guile, of truth over falsity, of the spiritual over the unspiritual, of the above over the below, of light over darkness, of life over death,
4. Thus, in this victory of God’s life over the death imposed by evil, first of all, we have the greatest comfort and encouragement that God never leaves us. God who rose to life, will not allow any forces, any pressures that stifle and choke life, that diminish and destroy life. It is true that many times, in our society, in our times, in our lives, evil seems stronger than good. Wickedness and insincerity seem more advantageous, while goodness and honesty seem to be boring, tiring, and useless. In those situations, one can easily feel that entrusting oneself to God and dedicating oneself to good, is useless. One feels that it is better, safe, and advantageous to follow the world, to walk according to the wind, and to compromise with evil and false values.
5. Precisely in those moments, we must turn our gaze on to the cross, and to the crucified Lord. The battle he made to the end, in confidence, courage, and perseverance, is never useless. Trust in good, trust in God is never wasteful. The struggle of the good is only temporary. There is no defeat, there is no fall, there is no loss, for those who trust in God and walk in good. The last victory is always of God, and good. Clouds will not be permanent in the sky but only for a while. The darkness will not be long forever but the light of the Lord shines. Good Friday, darkness, and pain are only for a few hours. But the glory, the joy of the resurrection is forever.
6. Jesus asks Mary Magdalene weeping at his tomb, “Woman, why do you weep?” (Jn. 20.15). Yes, the same question is posed to each one of us, especially to those who feel down and let down, those who despair: “My brother, my sister, why do you weep? Why do you lose your heart? Am I not with you? Have I not walked the way of the cross before you and for you? Will I not walk with you now? Will I not wipe away your tears? I died for you and rose for you, to be with you forever. Trust me and live with me. Peace and joy shall be yours.”
7. Let the risen Jesus constantly raise our fallen spirits toward heaven, toward what is high and lofty. Therefore we pray that the risen Christ constantly resurrects us, and raises our lowered spirits towards heaven, towards what is high and noble.
Direction: Let us become “living temples” and not “empty tombs”! Let us constantly die to sin and rise up from our fallen state, rise up from our dissipation, and live to grace. Let our daily life be a daily resurrection giving us a foretaste of that final resurrection.
