From the Gospel according to Luke Lk 24, 1-12.
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Lent feels so long. It seems like Easter will never come. But now—the hour of Salvation has arrived! The angels bring us the news, the same angels who announced it to the shepherds in Bethlehem. The same ones who came to Mary at the Annunciation. And now they say to us: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen.”
With those words, Hope has reached us. Life, grace, the sacraments, Mary as our Mother… That Resurrection means so, so much—for you and for me…
I become aware, and that cry of joy rises up in me: You have risen, Lord! At last, I can shout again: Alleluia! And another Alleluia! And another one, adding after each Alleluia the gifts that the Resurrection of the Lord brings us.
Tony: Yesterday I felt kind of downhearted, like nothing made sense, like all effort was useless.
Matilda: Really? What happened yesterday?
Tony: Nothing specific… I just fell into the same old things again. I started seeing my life as a sort of inevitable routine, and that dragged me down.
Matilda: That happens sometimes. So, what brought you out of the darkness?
Tony: Contemplating the Resurrection of the Lord. I started going over in prayer everything I’ve received from Him—starting with forgiveness and life, then the Holy Spirit, being made a child of God, the hope we share in our Sacrament of Marriage, the hope for our children… I don’t know. A list so overwhelmingly endless of blessings and promises that all the nonsense faded away, and I ended up praising God with all my heart.
Matilda: That’s beautiful. I loved it. It moved me. Thank you for making me more aware of the gift of Redemption.
We thank God especially for you. Without you, where would we go?
Thank You, Lord, for giving us Mary as our Mother.
