Sunday Gospel: Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, Year A

Women go to the tomb as dawn is breaking. The Power of Darkness which had Jesus unjustly sentenced, cruelly tortured and buried in the pitch blackness of the tomb, is conquered by the Son-Rise of all sun rises flooding our world and the whole of human history with Divine Light and Energy. This is the heart of our faith as Catholic Christians, which we celebrate with bon-fire (good fire) in darkness at the Easter Vigil. From that earthly element we light the Easter candle and the Exsultet is sung: ‘Be glad, let earth be glad as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King.’ The resurrection itself is nowhere described in the gospels, but we do have appearances of the Risen Lord Jesus. The first appearance was to a woman, Mary of Magdala. A title given to her by the early church was ‘Apostle to the Apostles’ because she was the bearer of the message which the male disciples initially did not believe. But eventually they too believed that Death had been done to death because the Son had risen. Christ’s body was transfigured by the energy of Divine Love and we can, by grace, participate in that resurrection life of Our Lord. A glorious destiny awaits us, as indeed it awaits the whole cosmos as it is to be transformed by that resurrection life recreating the whole of creation. We could take a moment to pray that we, along with all that matters, are graced with the life-giving energy of the Risen Son and that we may join Mary of Magdala in spreading the Good News of Christ’s victory over death. Alleluia! (Gospel Reflection by Fr Michael Tate) 

The Encounter: Way of the Cross 

The Encounter: Way of the Cross is a guided series of testimonies, scriptures, reflections and prayers that follow the final encounters of Jesus.

The Way of the Cross is the journey of Jesus. It is also our journey. As you undertake this journey, be open to encountering Jesus in a new way this Easter. I encourage you all to take the time to explore this resource and use it to pray as a family this Good Friday.

https://www.cgyouth.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/200401_Encounter_Primary-1.pdf

Holy Week Celebrations, Mass and Prayer during COVID-19

All Holy Week celebrations will be streamed through the Catholic Voice YouTube Channel and the Catholic Voice website.

The Director of Catholic Schools, Ross Fox recently shared the following resources with all staff in the diocese, and I believe some of these may be valuable to you also and may assist in keeping people connected in these challenging times.

• Mass Online provides us with the opportunity to pray the Mass on a daily basis.

• Living Word provides a reflection on the readings of the day.

• Daily Voice provides a daily snapshot of what is happening locally, in the Archdiocese and across the world.

Dates for your Diary:

Stay safe these holidays, and take care of each other,

Stephanie Burns

Religious Education Coordinator