By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted April 18, 2025

(See the readings for the Resurrection of the Lord)

“The Lord is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia!”

The darkness of the tomb is shattered by light. The tomb is empty except for the burial cloths. The pain and grief of the passion are supplanted by the exuberance and joy of the resurrection. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.

Rick Warren, the author of “The Purpose Driven Life” and a Protestant pastor, went through a terrible time along with his wife when they lost one of their sons to suicide. The son had struggled with depression and mental illness for 10 years before his death. 

About a year after this tragedy, Rick said, “I’ve often been asked, ‘How have you made it? How have you kept going in your pain?’And I’ve often replied, ‘The answer is Easter.’ You see, the death and the burial and the resurrection of Jesus happened over three days. Friday was the day of suffering and pain and agony. Saturday was the day of doubt and confusion and misery.

“But Easter—that Sunday—was the day of hope and joy and victory. And here’s the fact of life: you will face these three days over and over and over in your lifetime. And when you do, you’ll find yourself asking—as I did—three fundamental questions. Number one, ‘What do I do in my days of pain?’ Two, ‘How do I get through my days of doubt and confusion?’ Three, ‘How do I get to the days of joy and victory?’ The answer is Easter. The answer … is Easter.”

Easter lies at the center of life. Jesus is risen from the dead and that makes all the difference in the world. Our acceptance of this reality is found in faith.

The Gospel account for Easter Sunday is taken from the Gospel According to John. The passage recalls Mary Magdalen, Peter and John going to the tomb and finding it empty. When John, the beloved disciple, goes into the tomb, “He sees and believes.” 

The disciple’s reaction witnesses to the triumph of faith over doubt. Jesus is risen. Even though at this point, the disciple has not encountered the Risen Lord, he believes. The empty tomb is enough for him. 

Throughout the public ministry Jesus had been calling people out of the darkness into the light of faith. He had shown wonderful signs, inspired teaching and illuminating preaching as he called people to faith. The disciple witnesses this faith as he enters the tomb – and believes. Faith in the Risen Lord then leads to proclamation.

Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection as witnessed by the apostles and other disciples, is proclaimed by them. This preaching is referred to as the kerygma (literally “proclamation”). The core message is simple: Jesus suffered, died and is risen from the dead. 

Peter’s speech in Acts 10, which serves as the first reading, is an example: “We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” The proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection is an invitation to faith, an invitation to life.

Holy Saturday night, in churches all over the world, adults responding with faith to that proclamation and invitation receive the sacraments of Christian initiation. Through these sacraments they are united with Christ Jesus and become members of his Church. 

They have been united with him in his death and so are promised a share in his resurrection. They have been freed from the burden of sin and have been bathed in his mercy. They have been given the gift of life. As we renew our baptismal promises this Easter Sunday, we are refreshed in the life he won for us and the life we share with each other.

Rick Warren identified three questions that we might ask ourselves when facing challenging situations, when we find ourselves confused or lost, or when we are looking for joy and peace. The questions might come up in different circumstances, times and places but the answer remains the same, “Easter.” 

And so we join together with one voice and say: “The Lord is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia!”

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.