Today, the “combat strangely ended.” Death and Life contended in a duel that seemed, to the eyes of the world, a defeat on Friday. But as the sun rises on this Easter Sunday, we stand with Mary of Magdala in the garden, witnessing the victory of Love over the grave.

The Witness of the Word

First Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43

St. Peter speaks with the authority of one who has “eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection.” He reminds us that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, doing good and healing all. The Resurrection isn’t just a historical event; it is the seal on the promise that “all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

Responsorial Psalm: 118

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” The stone rejected by the builders, the crucified Christ, has become the cornerstone of a new creation.

Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4

St. Paul challenges us: “Look for the things that are in heaven.” Because we have been brought back to true life with Him, our perspective must shift. Our lives are now “hidden with Christ in God.”

The Gospel: John 20:1-9

We see the frantic race to the tomb. Mary Magdala finds the stone moved; Peter and John find the linen cloths discarded. John “saw and he believed.” They finally understood the scripture: He must rise from the dead.

Mystical Insights: St. Faustina and Maria Valtorta

The Resurrection is the ultimate act of Divine Mercy. In the Diary of St. Faustina, we see the profound joy this victory brings to the soul. Faustina records:

“Today, during the Resurrection Mass, I saw the Lord Jesus in a great light. He approached me and said, ‘Peace be to you, My children,’ and He lifted up His hand and gave us His blessing. The scars from the wounds of His hands, feet, and side were bright and shining like gold” (Diary, 1067).

This “gold” in the wounds reminds us that our sufferings, when united to His, are transformed into glory.

In Maria Valtorta’s The Poem of the Man-God, the Resurrection is described with vivid, cinematic detail. Valtorta describes the interior light of the tomb becoming incandescent, the flesh of the Word reanimating not just as a revived body, but as a glorified one. She emphasises the encounter with His Mother, suggesting that before He appeared to the Magdalene, He comforted the one who stood by the Cross. This aligns with the “Sequence” we sing today: “Christ, my hope, has risen!”

Divine Mercy Novena: Day Three

As we celebrate the Resurrection, we also continue the Divine Mercy Novena. Today, Jesus asks us to bring Him the “Devout and Faithful Souls.”

“Today bring to Me ALL DEVOUT AND FAITHFUL SOULS, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy… They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.”

The faithful souls are those who, like the “other disciple” in today’s Gospel, believe even when things are “still dark.” They are the ones who stay in the “abode of His Most Compassionate Heart.”

The Wisdom of the Saints

The great Saints have always viewed the Resurrection as the anchor of hope. St. Augustine famously said, “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!” He saw the Resurrection as the proof that the “Total Christ, Head and Body, is destined for eternity.

St. John Chrysostom, in his famous Paschal Homily, cries out: “Hell is angered because it has been frustrated! It is angered because it has been mocked! Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free!”

Conclusion: A New Life

Easter is not a complex web of theological theories; it is a simple, radiant fact. As we look at the empty tomb, we see the “ocean of mercy” that St. Faustina wrote about. We are invited to leave the “grave-clothes” of our old sins behind and, as the Sequence says, follow Him into the “Galilee” of our daily lives.

Victorious King, Thy mercy show! Alleluia!