Liturgical Readings for : Sunday, 31st March, 2024
Easter Sunday Morning
‘Christ is risen, Alleluia! This is the ancient Christian greeting on this day of great joy and happiness for all.
‘Easter is not simply one least among others, but the “Feast of feasts”. The mystery of the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our time, until all is subjected to him’ (CCC, 1169).
FIRST READING
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 10:34. 37-43
We have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection
Peter addressed Cornelius and his household:
“You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now I, and those with me, can witness to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses – we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead – and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead.
It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 117
Response Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
1.Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say: ‘His love has no end.’ Response
2.The Lord’s right hand has triumphed; his right hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I shall live and recount his deeds. Response
3. The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord, a marvel in our eyes. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Colossians 3:1-4
You must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is.
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
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Alternative Second Reading
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 5:6-8
Get rid of all the old yeast, and make yourselves into a completely new batch of bread.
You must know how even a small amount of yeast is enough to leaven all the dough, so get rid of all the old yeast, and make yourselves into a completely new batch of bread, unleavened as you are meant to be. Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed; let us celebrate the feast, by getting rid of all the old yeast of evil and wickedness, having only the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
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Sequence
(optional)
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 1 Cor 5:7-8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ, our passover, has been sacrificed; let us celebrate the feast then, in the Lord.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 20:1-9 Glory to you, O Lord
He must rise from the dead.
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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This account of the first Easter Sunday morning is significant in that it highlights how each of us as believers must come to terms with the mystery of the resurrection. Mary reports to Peter and the beloved disciple that the tomb is empty. They in turn run to investigate and, while the disciple reaches the tomb first, he holds back in deference to Peter, the leader of the twelve. It is only when the beloved disciple enters the tomb that we are told an appropriate response to the event –’He saw and he believed.’ The beloved disciple is unnamed but in John’s gospel he is present and close to Jesus at all the key moments: the Last Supper, Calvary and now the tomb. In a sense he symbolises where all true believers should be, for each of us is called to be a beloved disciple who accompanies Jesus on his way: ‘Where I am there also my servant will be.’ Jn 12:26
Reflection
Our readings today bring home to us with tremendous enthusiasm and fervour how our faith life is meaningless if not rooted in the resurrection of Jesus. The gospel is not merely a story in which we are offered the good example of a man who lived a life of love. It is much more, for it shows us that God has renewed our life totally from within through the Spirit of the Risen Christ who now lives in us. In the world of the New Testament many doubted the resurrection and poured scorn on the idea. The same is true today and perhaps this is not an unreasonable response when confronted with the apparent finality of death. Yet the entire New Testament is a witness to the faith of those who affirmed the resurrection as much more than an historical fact. For them it was the ultimate transforming truth and it remains so for those who celebrate it today. This explains why, ‘We are an Easter people and alleluia is our song.’ (St Augustine)
Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Lt
