Dear brothers and sisters, Alleluia! Christ is risen! Today, we gather here to celebrate the greatest and most glorious mystery of our faith: the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not simply the conclusion of Holy Week—it is the triumphant beginning of a new creation. The empty tomb is not the end of a story—it is the start of eternal life for all who believe.
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear St. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly proclaiming the core of our faith. He declares that Jesus of Nazareth, anointed by the Holy Spirit, went about doing good and healing. He was crucified, but on the third day, God raised him from the dead. Notice the emphasis Peter places on witnessing. “We are witnesses,” he says. They saw Him, touched Him, ate and drank with Him after the resurrection. The resurrection is not a beautiful idea—it is a real event, one verified by real people, and it changed everything.
St. Peter’s testimony reminds us that Easter is not merely symbolic. It is not a poetic metaphor for spring or renewal. No—Christ truly rose. Death was truly defeated. Sin was truly conquered. This victory has real consequences for us. As St.Peter says, “everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
This brings us to the second reading, where St. Paul calls us to live as those who have already been raised with Christ. “If then you were raised with Christ,” Sr. Paul writes, “seek what is above.” The resurrection is not only about Jesus—it is also about us. Through baptism, we died and rose with Christ. We have been given new life, hidden with Christ in God. Therefore, Easter is not only Christ’s triumph; it is our hope and our calling.
But how do we live this resurrected life? St. Paul says, “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” This means we are to be a people of heaven even while walking on earth. It means living not in fear or despair but in hope and joy. It means choosing forgiveness over revenge, love over hate, and mercy over judgment. It means remembering that no grave, no sin, and no darkness can hold us captive when we are united with Christ.
And then we come to the Gospel—the moment of discovery. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb early in the morning and finds it empty. She is shocked and afraid. She runs to Peter and John. They, too, run—racing with confusion and curiosity. When they enter the tomb and see the burial cloths, something shifts. The Gospel says, “He saw and believed.” Faith begins to awaken, though they do not yet fully understand.
The empty tomb does not offer proof as we would like it—no video, no eyewitness at the very moment of resurrection. But the emptiness itself speaks. The cloths left behind, the stone rolled away, the fear transformed into faith—these are the signs of God at work.
And so, brothers and sisters, what does the resurrection mean for us today?
It means there is no darkness so deep that Christ cannot shine His light. It means there is no sin so heavy that His mercy cannot lift it. It means that suffering, loss, and even death do not have the last word—God does.
And His word is life. His word is love. His word is “Alleluia!” Let us then live as people of the Resurrection. Let us not simply remember an event of the past but live the power of it today. Like Peter, let us be witnesses. Like Paul, let us seek what is above. Like Mary Magdalene and the apostles, let us run to the tomb and leave it transformed by faith. Christ is risen! He is truly risen! Alleluia!