Easter is the most important Christian holiday. Christians celebrate
based on their faith that Jesus rose from the dead.
Invitation
May I ask for your attention for
daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is to share the joy
of the gospel with you. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Opening words
Last night we sang of the light of the Paschal candle
and we prayed for God’s blessing on the baptismal water.
For fifty days we joyfully celebrate the Easter festival
and we thank God for the new life He gives us.
Let us listen attentively to the Easter message
so that we may draw new strength and hope from it.
In this year of jubilee, we can perhaps realise even more
that Easter is a celebration that gives hope:
hope in the resurrection and eternal life.
FIRST READING Acts 10:34a, 37-43
We ate with him after he rose from the dead.
From the Acts of the Apostles
In those days Peter stood up and addressed the people:
‘You know what has been happening all over Judea
how Jesus of Nazareth began his ministry in Galilee
after John the Baptist had been baptising,
and how God anointed him
with the Holy Spirit and with power.
“He went about doing good
and healing all
who were under the power of the devil,
because God was with him. ’And we are witnesses of everything
He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They beat Him and killed Him on the cross.
But God raised Him on the third day
and let Him appear,
not to the whole people
but to the witnesses God had chosen beforehand,
to us who ate and drank with Him
after he had risen from the dead. ‘He commanded us to preach to the people,
and to testify
that he is the one appointed by God as judge
over the living and the dead.
’All the prophets bear witness to him,
that everyone who believes in him
through his Name gains forgiveness of sins.’
Response Psalm Ps. 118(117):1-2, 16ab-17, 22-23
Refrain
This is the day the Lord has made.
We will celebrate it in gladness. Or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is gracious,
His compassion is without end!
Repeat it, you tribes of Israel:
His compassion is without end! The Lord intervened with a mighty hand,
the hand of the Lord has raised me up.
I shall not die but live on
and everywhere I will proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord. The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
It was the Lord who did this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes.
SECOND READING Col. 3:1-4
Seek what is above, where Christ is seated.
From the letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Christians of
Colossians
Brothers and sisters, If you have been raised to life with Christ,
seek what is 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 now hidden with Christ in God.
Christ is your life,
and when he appears,
you too will appear with Him in glory. Sequence Let us praise the Easter Lamb,
honour the Lamb of God with sacrifices.
Yes, the Lamb saves the sheep,
Christ through his innocence
brings us poor sinners to the Father.
Death and life, oh wonder,
must fight together.
He who died, He lives, He is
our king.
Tell us, Mary,
what is it that you have seen?
The tomb of Christ that was empty,
the glory of Him who is risen,
angels as witnesses,
the napkin and the shroud.
My hope, my living Christ!
Behold, He goes before you to Galilee.
Truly Christ is risen: he has risen from the dead;
O King, our Hero, grant us peace.
Verse before the gospel 1 Cor. 5, 7b-8a Alleluia.
Our Easter lamb has been slaughtered: Christ himself.
We must celebrate our feast in the Lord.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL John 20:1-9
He had to rise from the dead.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene
went to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and
saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb.
She ran quickly to Simon Peter
and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,
and said to them,
‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb
and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb.
They ran together
but the other disciple outran Peter
and reached the tomb first.
Bending over, he saw the bandages lying there
but he did not go inside. Simon Peter, who was following him, also came to the tomb
and did go inside.
He saw that the bandages were there,
but that the cloth that had covered his head
was not lying with the bandages
but rolled up separately in a different place.
Then the other disciple
who had arrived at the grave first, went inside;
he saw and believed
because they had not yet understood
what was written there,
that He had to rise from the dead.
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On fraternity and social friendship
253. When injustice has been on both sides, it must be clearly
recognised that the acts may not have been equally serious or comparable.
Violence exercised by the structures and power
of the state is not on the same level as the
violence of certain groups. In any case, it cannot be expected that
only the unjust suffering of one of the parties will be remembered.
As the bishops of Croatia have learned, ‘we owe the same respect
to every innocent victim. There should be no ethnic,
confessional, national or political differences.’
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation _________________________________________________________________