Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 16, 2022
At daybreak on the first day of the week
the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus
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 puzzling over this, behold,
two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.
They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
They said to them,
“Why do you seek the living one among the dead?
He is not here, but he has been raised.
Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners
and be crucified, and rise on the third day.”
And they remembered his words.
Then they returned from the tomb
and announced all these things to the eleven
and to all the others.
The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James;
the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,
but their story seemed like nonsense
and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb,
bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone;
then he went home amazed at what had happened.
Where do you find yourself at daybreak? Perhaps you find yourself grumbling, wishing for a few more moments of sleep. Or maybe you find yourself rushing through your routine, keeping an eye on the clock to make sure you are still on schedule. In the busyness of the morning, I often forget to praise the Lord for the new day, but Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary, mother of James, remind us of the importance of giving our first fruits to the Lord.
What strikes me about this passage is the enthusiasm with which these women go to announce what they have witnessed at the tomb on Easter Sunday. They not only shared this news with the eleven Apostles but also shared “to all the others.”
I imagine them so full, to the brink of bursting, with joy for the risen Lord that they cannot help but cry out the good news as they run to tell more people.
This reading prompts us to reflect on whether we allow ourselves to overflow with joy for the risen Lord like Mary Magdalene and the other women. Do we share the fullness of joy that comes from faith even when it may seem like nonsense to some?
Tonight at the Easter Vigil, the elect will receive the sacraments of initiation and be welcomed into the church. Let us pray that they may experience the fullness of joy that comes by faith alone and share it with “all the others.”
Prayer
Almighty God of surprises, your plans and actions exceed not only our expectations, but also our imagination. Help us to remember not to seek the living among the dead. Open our eyes to notice experiences of darkness transformed into light, death to new life. As Mary, Joanna, and Mary were harbingers of joy and salvation, help us to be the same, through Christ our Risen Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today, the Church recalls Jesus' suffering and death and waits in hope to celebrate the resurrection, by which we receive new and abundant life.
The reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus holds relics from the tomb of Jesus.
Like yesterday, no sacraments are celebrated today (until the Easter Vigil) because we recall Jesus’ entombment in death. This day is the quietest moment of the Church year—there are no liturgical services today as we wait outside of the tomb.
The icon to the left is from Cora Church in Istanbul. This famous icon depicts Christ's harrowing of Hell, as he pulls our first parents, Adam and Eve, out of their caskets and ushers them into the Resurrection.
Holy Saturday commemorates Christ's death—Christ's entry into the deepest pain of our existence, into the shades of Hades, where no one can praise God. Christ enters into the deepest, darkest places of the human experience—places where the human being can separate herself from God. But Christ the Bridegroom enters into the darkness of hell, into our own Calvary of pain or loss, and brings us to the joy of Easter.
An ancient sermon for Holy Saturday paints this beautiful image of Christ coming to awake these sleeping souls, Christ as a lover who urges us to leave hell and rise with him to heaven:
Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead.
Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image.
Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.
For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave;
I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth.
As we wait in quiet today for the joy of the Resurrection tomorrow, let us remember that Christ loves us so deeply, he will descend to the darkest reaches of the universe to bring us back to him.
On this Holy Saturday, let us wait near the tomb of Jesus, hopeful for the resurrection!
Image Credit: Our featured image of the harrowing of hell on Good Saturday is in the public domain. Last accessed February 13, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
