Acts 10:34a,37-43/Ps.117:1-2,16-17,22-23/Col.3:1-4/John 20:1-9
On this day of the Resurrection, the Church invites us not only to rejoice, but to understand, to enter deeply into the mystery we proclaim: Christ is risen.
In the First Reading, Peter gives us a simple yet profound catechesis. Speaking after his encounter with Cornelius, he confesses a truth that reshapes faith itself: God shows no partiality. God’s love is not confined to a people, a culture, or a history. It is universal. He welcomes all who seek what is right. Salvation, therefore, is not a privilege- it is a gift offered to every human heart.
At the center of this revelation stands Jesus Christ- his life, his ministry, his death, and now, his Resurrection. Peter does not speak from theory. He speaks as a witness: “We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” The Resurrection is not an idea; it is an encounter.
Yet the Gospel draws us first not to certainty, but to confusion. Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb and finds it empty. Her first response is not faith, but fear: “They have taken the Lord.” Even Peter and the beloved disciple see the empty tomb- but the mystery remains unresolved.
And here lies something important: the empty tomb, by itself, does not produce faith. It raises questions. It unsettles. It invites us to search.
But there are signs. The linen cloths lie there, undisturbed, carefully arranged. No thief would act with such calm deliberation. No enemy would leave behind what was valuable. The scene is silent, yet it speaks: something beyond human explanation has happened here.
Still, the truth of the Resurrection does not rest only on an empty tomb. It rests on witnesses – men and women whose lives were transformed because they encountered the Risen Lord. From fear to courage, from doubt to conviction, they became proclaimers of a truth they could not deny.
And this is where Easter reaches us. Easter is not merely a celebration of an event in the past. It is an invitation in the present. An invitation to move beyond speculation… beyond surface belief… into a living encounter with Christ.
If we remain at the level of the empty tomb, we will always be searching for explanations. But if we listen to the witnesses, if we enter the Scriptures – then we begin to see with the eyes of faith.
The Psalmist declares: “This is the day the Lord has made.” This day is not accidental. It is the work of God. The Resurrection is the Father’s definitive act – His answer to sin, to death, and to every darkness that threatens human life.
Therefore, Easter calls us to something deeper than joy – it calls us to conversion of vision. To recognize God where He has revealed Himself: in His Word, in the testimony of the apostles, and in the living presence of Christ among us.
Christ is risen – but the question remains:
Do we merely hear it, or do we believe it?
Do we believe it, or do we live it?
Because the true celebration of Easter is not only in proclaiming Alleluia, but in becoming witnesses – men and women whose lives, quietly, firmly, and faithfully declare: The Lord is truly Risen.
ANNUNCIATION DAILY ROSARY REFLECTION 