First reading Acts 2:36-41
You must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus
On the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke to the Jews: ‘The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.’
Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’ ‘You must repent,’ Peter answered ‘and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.’ He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, ‘Save yourselves from this perverse generation.’ They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.
Responsorial Psalm 32(33):4-5,18-20,22
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.
The Lord fills the earth with his love.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Sequence
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
offer sacrifice and praise.
The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;
and Christ, the undefiled,
hath sinners to his Father reconciled.
Death with life contended:
combat strangely ended!
Life’s own Champion, slain,
yet lives to reign.
Tell us, Mary:
say what thou didst see
upon the way.
The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!
The angels there attesting;
shroud with grave-clothes resting.
Christ, my hope, has risen:
he goes before you into Galilee.
That Christ is truly risen
from the dead we know.
Victorious king, thy mercy show!
Gospel Acclamation Ps117:24
Alleluia, alleluia!
This day was made by the Lord:
we rejoice and are glad.
Alleluia!
Gospel John 20:11-18
‘I have seen the Lord and he has spoken to me’
Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.
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Why are you weeping?
“Mary was standing outside near the tomb, weeping”. Mary of Magdala, a solitary figure, wrapped up in her grief and sadness because Jesus was dead and now His body was missing. We can identify with Mary and her sense of loss. We too have wept tears of grief and regret and have cried for someone we loved. “As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not realise that it was Jesus”. Jesus was there with her in her grief. In the same way, He is also with us in the moments of our sadness and pain. Like Mary, we might not recognise His presence. Jesus comes to us every day and relates with us in a personal way. We need to be attentive to His voice calling our names and the faith to see His presence with us.
In the end, Mary of Magdala told the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”. May we personally experience the presence of Jesus with us so that we can be empowered to be messengers of the good news.
Question for reflection:
What prevents me from recognising the living presence of Christ today?
What prevents me from recognising the living presence of Christ today?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
