At the heart of this jubilant time is Easter Sunday, a day brimming with the joy of the Risen Lord, which also begins the Easter Octave — eight days of unbroken celebration, each treated as though they are one and the same day.
Easter is the pinnacle of our liturgical year, celebrating the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, a cornerstone of faith promising redemption and eternal life to fallen humanity.
This holy season invites us into deep reflection and profound rejoicing over the life-giving mysteries of Christ’s triumph over the grave.
The Octave of Easter is an extended season of joy, underscoring the central truth of the Christian faith: Christ is victorious over death and sin.
The readings from all the Easter liturgies focus on the goodness, power, and saving work of God throughout history, culminating in the ultimate conquest of Christ made manifest in His Resurrection.
They also emphasize the importance of faith and trust in God, dying to sin, and being raised to new life through Baptism, and seeking Heavenly things rather than mere earthly ones.
Experiencing the Resurrection
In the Gospel selection for Mass on Easter Sunday (Jn 20:1-9), we recall Mary Magdalene arriving at the tomb “early in the morning, while it was still dark”.
Reaching Jesus’ burial site, Mary “saw the stone removed” so she ran to find Simon, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple to report that the Lord’s body was missing.
Wanting to verify what Mary had told them, Peter and John ran quickly and soon discovered that indeed the tomb was barren.
Together they entered and seeing the burial cloths and face covering set aside, these apostles immediately came to faith in the Risen Lord.
Christ’s prophetic words, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19) were literally fulfilled in the Resurrection.
Easter then is an invitation and opportunity for all of us to deepen our faith and trust in the power of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, reinforcing the very foundation of Christian belief.
Like the first Apostles, we must tap into the power of Christ’s Resurrection to empower us to turn away from sin and to fully embrace a life transformed by God’s grace.
The message of Easter is one of transformative hope in a world deeply wounded by suffering and sin, darkness, and despair.
These realities should not hinder our hope but instead, lead us out of darkness into the liberating light of the Risen Lord.
Christ’s victory over the tomb reminds us that death is not the final word and that God never abandons us, even when things seem hopeless or we feel helpless.
The witness of Mary Magdalene
In the passage that immediately follows Easter Sunday’s Gospel (Jn 20:11-18), we read that the Risen Lord then appears to Mary Magdalene who remained outside the tomb weeping.
Stooping down to gaze into the empty tomb, she sees two angels who immediately ask why she is crying.
Tearfully explaining that the body of Jesus was taken away and that she does not know where it is, Our Lord suddenly appears and asks, “Who do you seek?”
Recognizing His voice, she lovingly turns to embrace her Lord and Savior who explains that He must ascend to the Father.
Mary Magdalene immediately goes to the disciples to tell them “I have seen the Lord,” and shares all that He revealed to her.
Like Mary Magdalene, every Christian today is called to share his or her faith with others and be a “witness to His Resurrection” (Acts 22).
Bearers of hope in a hurting world
We must boldly proclaim that the Lord is risen and become bearers of hope and agents of new life, found only in Christ Jesus.
St. Paul says that as Baptized believers, “We were buried therefore with Him by Baptism into death so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rm 6:4).
This is the urgent message that our hurting world desperately needs to hear.
Our lives too must testify to this truth in visible and tangible ways.
Without an unwavering belief in Resurrection, our lives are hopelessly confined to this world.
But with it, this world can become the beginning of a life of infinite happiness with our Triune God for all eternity.
This is the good news; this is what we need to emphasize in our everyday evangelization, as we strive to “Go make disciples”.
Is the Risen Lord truly the center of our lives? Does our intimate relationship with Him freely flow out to others so we might be a witness to His transforming grace?
Are we willing to introduce those who are lost, lonely, or longing for “something more” to the “Someone more” — namely the person of Jesus? Have we shared the good news of the empty tomb with those who have been part of our Walk With One efforts?
Let us invoke St. Mary Magdalene, who truly was a bearer of hope and a bold evangelist, to intercede for us in this grace-filled season of Easter so that we might have the courage to shout from the rooftops: Christ is risen . . . He has truly risen, indeed!
Michael D. Wick is the director of mission for the Diocese of Madison.