Easter Sundays

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Alleluia! The Lord is Risen! He has triumphed and conquered sin and death, and has brought us all into a new Hope and Light of His salvation, let us all rejoice and be glad! All of us have come to this most joyful and happy occasion of Easter, and on this Sunday, the day of Easter Sunday, we remember all of the preparations that we have done in getting ourselves ready to celebrate this most momentous and important occasion. It is at the core of our Christian beliefs and faith that we believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Son of God Who has been crucified for the sake of all mankind. And this belief in the Resurrection of Jesus is truly important because without the Resurrection then our faith is nothing more than an empty faith and belief.

Without the Resurrection of the Lord, then Jesus Christ is no more than just a mere Man or a Prophet like others, and worse still, it might have affirmed what the Jewish elders and chief priests had accused the Lord of doing, that is being a False Messiah and as someone who has blasphemed against God. But the reality is that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead and this faith has been passed down to us for generations after generations to our present day through the Church of God. The Resurrection is something that we ourselves have not seen, experienced and witnessed and yet we chose to believe in this truth, just as many of our predecessors had done before us. All of us truly believe in Jesus Christ, in Him being the Son of God Incarnate, in everything that He had taught and revealed to us, and in His suffering, death and resurrection.

People always debate on whether Christmas or Easter is the greater and more important celebration. The truth is that it is more complicated than it seems to be, and it is truly imprudent and inappropriate to compare the two of them. The reality is that both of them are very important events in the history of our salvation and neither is complete without the other one. But ultimately, Easter is more important and crucial to our salvation because without what happened at Easter, then the Child born into this world at Christmas would just be another one of the countless mankind that had been born into this world, just like any one of us. If Christ never rose from the dead, then everything that He had taught, all the prophecies that He had fulfilled all ultimately would have come to nothing, and His followers would have eventually scattered and ceased to exist just as what had happened to so many other False Messiahs.

But at the same time, Christmas is important because it provided the foundation for what happened during the whole Holy Week and Easter. In Christmas, we have seen the manifestation of God’s love made Man, the Divine Being Himself being incarnate in the flesh and appearing before us. After spending nine months in His mother Mary’s hallowed womb, the Lord Himself was born into this world and showed Himself to us, from the once intangible and unapproachable, transcendent beyond imagination into the realm of reality, approachable, touchable and tangible to us. Through Christmas, we know that God has made His salvation clear and tangible to us, and not merely just a mighty deed done from afar, but a real action from a loving God Who has assumed our Humanity, and becoming Man as we are, He has united us all to Himself and made His salvation available to us.

That is because by His perfect obedience to the Father’s will, Christ as the New Adam and the New Man showed us all what all of us mankind are supposed to be, pure, blameless, full of faith and obedience to God. God has created us all in His image and likeness, but we have all been corrupted due to our fall into sin, failing to resist the many temptations that prevented us from truly achieving our full potential in what we have been meant to be. God created us all good and perfect, all full of grace and holiness, just as the Lord Himself has shown us in His perfect humanity, untainted by sin. But we have been led astray by sin and because of this we have been forced to wander off in this world and suffer the consequences of our disobedience and lack of faith and trust in God.

Our Scripture readings this Easter Sunday then highlight to us all the things which the Lord had done to overcome sin and death, and reunite us all with our most loving God and Father, our Creator and Master. Christ our Risen Lord has endured the worst of sufferings and challenges, trials and pains, by Him embracing willingly our many sins and their punishments upon Himself, by making Himself the Paschal Lamb, the Lamb of God to be slain for the New and Eternal Passover and Covenant that God wanted to establish with us all. The sacrifice and offering of our Risen Lord has been accepted in His perfect obedience, as the one and only worthy offering that is good enough to redeem and heal us all from our afflictions and corruptions by sin, as our Eternal High Priest, offering His own Most Precious Body and Blood for our salvation.

In our first reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the great testimony of faith from St. Peter the Apostle, the Lord’s chief disciple who spoke courageously and full of the Holy Spirit after he and the other disciples had received the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, fifty days after the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. He spoke bravely and courageously on behalf of the Lord because he himself had seen and witnessed everything that happened, and as recorded in the Scriptures, he and many others had seen the Risen Lord Himself in the flesh, in the glory of His Resurrected Body, which has transcended death. Initially, he and the other disciples were afraid because of the intense pressures, intimidations and efforts by the Jewish elders and chief priests who sought to keep the news about the Resurrection from spreading, even to the point of spreading false stories about how the disciples had stolen the Lord’s Body from His tomb.

But there St. Peter stood courageously before the many people assembled in Jerusalem for the Festival of the Pentecost, proclaiming all the good things that the Lord had done and accomplished through the same One Whom the people had persecuted and crucified just weeks earlier, and Who had died and yet rose again gloriously from the dead despite the lies and the falsehoods that the Temple authorities and the members of the Sanhedrin attempted against the Lord. He proclaimed the salvation which the Lord had won for all of us, the people beloved by God because of His triumphant Resurrection from the dead. And because they themselves have all experienced it, St. Peter and the other Apostles and disciples, all the witnesses of the Resurrection that our Gospel passage today had presented to us and all the great deeds that the Lord had done would not remain silent, and they proclaimed them all in great joy.

In our second reading this Easter Sunday, we heard from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Colossians, in which he exhorted all of them to seek what is holy and worthy, and not in earthly and worldly things. He challenged the faithful people of God to live in the manner that they have been called and expected to do as Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen to be His own beloved and holy people. Therefore, this is the same reminder to all of us that we should always be truly be active and committed in each and every moments of our lives, in carrying out our every actions, words and deeds in the manner that the Lord had taught us all through His Church. We should not merely be faithful in the manner of formality only, but we must be like the Apostles, who courageously and faithfully defended their faith in the Risen Lord.

This Easter season and beyond, we are also reminded that as Christians, as Pope St. John Paul II once famously said, that we are all Easter people, and Alleluia is our song. This means that all of us are called to live a truly holy and worthy lives, lives that are truly active, committed to God and missionary, full of compassion for one another and righteousness, justice and virtues in all of our actions throughout life. We must have the right disposition and attitude in life in order for us to be able to follow the Lord worthily in our lives. And just as the Israelites still continue their journey after crossing the sea out of Egypt, which is a symbolism and prefigurement of our baptism, therefore, baptism is not the end of our journey towards God, but rather, marks the new beginning in this journey we have towards God. As we renew our baptismal promises, we are reminded of this commitment that we have in following God and obeying His commandments.

Essentially, we are called to proclaim the Lord and His Resurrection, His Good News and salvation to the world. But in order to do this, we must first live our lives worthily as good and faithful Christians, and this is something that many of us have difficulty doing because we face so many obstacles, temptations and challenges in our daily lives. And this is why as we enter into this joyful Easter season, we have to renew our commitment and dedication to the Lord, in doing our best to live our lives worthily and to commit ourselves to a truly holy and blessed existence in God, in all of our actions, words and deeds, and in how we interact with others around us. We cannot be hypocrites who claim to believe in the Lord and yet act in the manner that is contrary to our faith and beliefs in God.

That is why as we all enter into this joyous season of Easter, celebrating the Lord’s glorious Resurrection, let us all strive to commit ourselves to be ever more faithful and sincere in following our Risen Lord in everything that we say and do. Let the transformations and conversions that we have experienced during the Lenten season continue to bear their fruits through this time of Easter and beyond. May all of us be faithful and ever more courageous witnesses of Our Lord and His Resurrection, being good role models and inspirations to our fellow brothers and sisters, helping ever more people to come closer to God and His salvation. May our Risen Lord continue to bless us all and give us His light of Hope, and strengthen us in our resolve to follow Him wholeheartedly, now and always. Amen.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 20 : 1-9

At that time, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Peter then set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying flat, but he did not enter. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb; he, too, saw the linen cloths lying flat.

The napkin, which had been around his head, was not lying flat like the other linen cloths, but lay rolled up in its place. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed. Scripture clearly said that He must rise from the dead, but they had not yet understood that.

Alternative reading

Luke 24 : 1-12

At that time, on the Sabbath the women rested according to the commandment, but the first day of the week, at dawn, the women went to the tomb with the perfumes and ointments they had prepared. Seeing the stone rolled away from the opening of the tomb, they entered, and were amazed to find that the Body of the Lord Jesus was not there.

As they stood there wondering about this, two men in dazzling garments suddenly stood before them. In fright the women bowed to the ground. But the men said, “Why look for the living among the dead? You will not find Him here. He is risen. Remember what He told you in Galilee, that the Son of Man had to be given into the hands of sinners, to be crucified, and to rise on the third day.” And they remembered Jesus’ words.

Returning from the tomb, they told the Eleven and all the others about these things. Among the women, who brought the news, were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. But however much they insisted, those who heard did not believe the seemingly nonsensical story. Then Peter got up and ran to the tomb. All he saw, when he bent down and looked into the tomb, were the linen cloths, laid by themselves. He went home wondering.

Alternative reading (Easter Sunday Evening Mass)

Luke 24 : 13-35

At that time, on the same day Jesus rose from the dead, two followers of Jesus were going to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem, and they talked about what had happened. While they were talking and arguing about what had happened, Jesus came up and walked with them. But their eyes were not able to recognise Him.

He asked, “What is it you are talking about?” The two stood still, looking sad. Then the one named Cleophas answered, “Why, it seems You are the only traveller to Jerusalem who does not know what haw happened there these past few days.” And He asked, “What is it?”

They replied, “It is about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a Prophet, You know, mighty in word and deed before God and the people. But the chief priests and our rulers sentenced Him to death. They handed Him over to be crucified. We had hoped that He would redeem Israel. It is now the third day since all this took place.”

“It is also true that some women of our group have disturbed us. When they went to the tomb at dawn, they did not find His Body; and they came and told us that they had had a vision of Angels, who said that Jesus was alive. Some of our people went to the tomb and found everything just as the women had said, but they did not find a Body in the tomb.”

He said to them, “How dull you are, how slow of understanding! Is the message of the prophets too difficult for you to understand? Is it not written that the Christ should suffer all this, and then enter His glory?” Then starting with Moses, and going through the prophets, He explained to them everything in the Scriptures concerning Himself.

As they drew near the village they were heading for, Jesus made as if to go farther. But they prevailed upon Him, “Stay with us, for night comes quickly. The day is now almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. When they were at table, He took the bread, said a blessing, broke it, and gave each a piece.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised Him; but He vanished out of their sight. And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts filled with ardent yearning when He was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures?” They immediately set out and returned to Jerusalem.

There they found the Eleven and their companions gathered together. They were greeted by these words : “Yes, it is true, the Lord is risen! He has appeared to Simon!” Then the two told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus had made Himself known, when He broke bread with them.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Colossians 3 : 1-4

So then, if you are risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on earthly things. For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is your life, reveals Himself, you also will be revealed with Him in Glory.

Alternative reading

1 Corinthians 5 : 6b-8

Do you not know that a little yeast makes the whole mass of dough rise? Throw out, then, the old yeast and be new dough. If Christ became our Passover, you should be unleavened bread. Let us celebrate, therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and sincerity.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 1-2, 16ab-17, 22-23

Alleluia! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His loving kindness endures forever. Let Israel say, “His loving kindness endures forever.”

The right hand of the Lord is lifted high, the right hand of the Lord strikes mightily! I shall not die, but live to proclaim what the Lord has done.

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing and we marvel at it.

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Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 10 : 34a, 37-43

Peter then spoke to them, “No doubt you have heard of the event that occurred throughout the whole country of the Jews, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism John preached. You know how God anointed Jesus the Nazarean with Holy Spirit and power.”

“He went about doing good and healing all who were under the devil’s power, because God was with Him; we are witnesses of all that He did throughout the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem itself. Yet they put Him to death by hanging Him on a wooden cross.”

But God raised Him to life on the third day and let Him manifest Himself, not to all the people, but to the witnesses that were chosen beforehand by God – to us who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection from death. And He commanded us to preach to the people and to bear witness that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. All the prophets say of Him, that everyone who believes in Him has forgiveness of sins through His Name.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Offertory, Secret Prayer of the Priest, Preface of Easter, Communion and Postcommunion Prayer

Liturgical Colour : White

Offertory

Psalm 75 : 9-10

Terra tremuit, et quievit, dum resurgeret in judicio Deus, Alleluja.

English translation

The earth trembled and was still; when God arose in judgment. Alleluia.

Secret Prayer of the Priest

Suscipe, quaesumus, Domine, preces populi Tui cum oblationibus hostiarum : ut, paschalibus initiata mysteriis, ad aeternitatis nobis medelam, Te operante, proficiant. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Accept, we beseech You, o Lord, the prayers of Your people together with the sacrifice they offer, that what has been begun by the Paschal Mysteries, may by Your arrangement result in our eternal healing into life everlasting. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

Preface of Easter

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare : Te quidem, Domine, omni tempore, sed in hac potissimum die (in hoc potissimum) gloriosus praedicare, cum Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Ipse enim verus est Agnus, qui abstulit peccata mundi. Qui mortem nostram moriendo destruxit et vitam resurgendo reparavit. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus cumque omni militia caelestis exercitus hymnum gloriae Tuae canimus, sine fine dicentes :

English translation

It is truly meet and just, right and profitable, to extol You indeed at all times, o Lord, but chiefly with highest praise to magnify You on this day (in these days) on which for us was sacrificed Christ, our Paschal Lamb. For He is the true Lamb Who had taken away the sins of the world, Who by dying Himself had destroyed our death, and by rising again had bestowed a new life on us. And therefore, with the Angels and Archangels, with the Thrones and Dominions, and with all the array of the heavenly host we sing a hymn to Your glory and unceasingly repeat :

Communion

1 Corinthians 5 : 7-8

Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Alleluja : Itaque epulemur in azymis sinceritatis et veritatis, Alleluja, Alleluja, Alleluja.

English translation

Christ, our Paschal Lamb has been immolated, Alleluia. Therefore, let us feast in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Postcommunion Prayer

Spiritum nobis, Domine, Tuae caritate infunde : ut, quos sacramentis Paschalibus satiasti Tua facias pietate concordes. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Ejusdem Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

Pour forth upon us, o Lord, the Spirit of Your love, to make us of one heart, who by Your tender mercy, You have filled with Your Paschal sacrament. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Holy Gospel

Liturgical Colour : White

Sequentia Sancti Evangelii secundum Marcum – Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark

Mark 16 : 1-7

In illo tempore : Maria Magdalene et Maria Jacobi et Salome emerunt aromata, ut venientes ungerent Jesum. Et valde mane una sabbatorum, veniunt ad monumentum, orto jam sole. Et dicebant ad invicem : Quis revolvet nobis lapidem ab ostio monumenti?

Et respicientes viderunt revolutum lapidem. Erat quippe magnus valde. Et introeuntes in monumentum viderunt juvenem sedentem in dextris, coopertum stola candida, et obstupuerunt. Qui dicit illis : Nolite expavescere : Jesum quaeritis Nazarenum, crucifixum : surrexit, non est hic, ecce locus, ubi posuerunt eum. Sed ite, dicite discipulis Ejus et Petro, quia praecedit vos in Galilaeam : ibi eum videbitis, sicut dixit vobis.

English translation

At that time, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome brought sweet spices, that they might come to anoint Jesus. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came to the sepulchre, the sun having now risen, and they said to one another, “Who shall roll back the stone from the door of the sepulchre?”

And looking, they saw the stone rolled back, for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed with a white robe, and they were astonished, who said to them, “Do not be afraid, you who seek Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified. He has risen, He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him, but go, tell His disciples and Peter that He went before you into Galilee, and there you shall see Him, as He told you.”

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Sequence

Liturgical Colour : White

Victimae Paschali laudes immolent Christiani.

Agnus redemit oves :

Christus innocens Patri reconciliavit peccatores.

Mors et vita duello conflixere mirando :

Dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus.

Dic nobis, Maria, quid vidisti in via?

Sepulcrum Christi viventis,

Et gloriam vidi resurgentis,

Angelicos testes, sudarium et vestes.

Surrexit Christus spes mea : praecedet vos in Galilaeam.

Scimus Christum surrexisse a mortuis vere :

Tu nobis, victor Rex miserere. Amen. Alleluja.

English translation

To the Paschal Victim, let Christians offer the sacrifice of praise.

The Lamb had redeemed the sheep.

Christ the Sinless One had reconciled sinners to His Father.

Death and Life contended in a wondrous encounter,

The Prince of Life died indeed, but now reigns living.

Tell us, Mary; what did you see on the way?

I saw the sepulchre of the Living Christ,

I saw the glory of Him Who had risen,

I saw the Angelic witnesses, the napkin and the linen cloths.

Christ, my hope, had risen. He shall go before you into Galilee.

We know in truth that Christ had risen from the dead.

You, o victorious King, have mercy on us. Amen. Alleluia.

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Gradual and Alleluia

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 24, 1 and 1 Corinthians 5 : 7

Haec dies, quam fecit Dominus : exsultemus et laetemur in ea.

Response : Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus : quoniam in saeculum misericordia Ejus.

Alleluja, Alleluja.

Response : Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus.

English translation

This is the day which the Lord had made, let us be glad and rejoice therein.

Response : Give praise to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.

Alleluia, Alleluia.

Response : Christ, our Paschal Lamb has been sacrificed.

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(Usus Antiquior) Easter Sunday (Double I Classis) – Sunday, 20 April 2025 : Introit and Collect

Liturgical Colour : White

Introit

Psalm 138 : 18, 5-6 and 1-2

Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum, Alleluja : posuisti super me manum Tuam, Alleluja : mirabilis facta est scientia Tua, Alleluja, Alleluja.

Domine, probasti me et cognovisti Me : Tu cognovisti sessionem Meam et resurrectionem Meam.

Response : Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

I arose and am still with You, Alleluia. You have laid Your hand upon Me, Alleluia. Your knowledge has been wonderful, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Lord, You have proved Me, and known Me, You have known My sitting down and My rising up.

Response : Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect

Deus, qui hodierna die per Unigenitum Tuum aeternitatis nobis aditum, devicta morte, reserasti : vota nostra, quae praeveniendo aspiras, etiam adjuvando prosequere. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English translation

O God, Who this day by Your only begotten Son, vanquishing death, has unlocked for us the gate of eternity, help us to attain the desires to which You have led us by Your inspirations. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.