Key Info

Feast:             Easter Sunday - Easter Sunday Masses
Day / Date:    Sunday, March 31, 2024
Mass Times:   8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Liturgy Overview

Following the Easter Vigil the night before, the mass of Easter Sunday proclaims the risen Christ.  After today's entrance procession and penitential rite, we hear the Gloria sung and the Alleluia proclaimed for the first Sunday since before Ash Weds.  The liturgy of the word contains the stories of resurrection, starting with Luke’s account in Acts portraying Peter’s address to the people, and ending with John’s Gospel, which describes the initial discovery by the disciples that Jesus had been raised!  Imagine how incredible this must have been to them!

After the homily we renew our baptismal vows, the statements of faith spoken by us or our god-parents at baptism.  The Eucharistic Prayer follows, leading to Communion, the Concluding Rites and a joyous outgoing procession.  We go forth into the world to proclaim the Risen Christ.

Order of Worship

The Order of Worship for the Easter Sunday Masses is similar to year-round Sunday Masses except for the addition of the Renewal of Baptismal Promises by the assembly and the Sprinkling with Holy Water.  Here is the flow of the liturgy:

• Entrance Procession
• Opening Rite
• Gloria
• Liturgy of the Word
• Homily
• Renewal of Baptismal Promises
• Sprinkling Rite
• General Intercessions
• Preparation of the Altar
• Eucharistic Prayer
• Communion Rite
• Concluding Rite
• Recessional

Reflection

Coming to the tomb early in the morning, Mary Magdalene finds that the stone has been rolled away and that Jesus’ body was gone.  She went to Simon Peter and the other disciples and told them what she observed.   Peter and other disciples come running to the tomb, each with their own expectations, and find only the burial cloths.  Especially telling was finding the small cloth which had covered Jesus’ head neatly folded.  They finally grasped the true outcome of Jesus’ passion and death.  Christ, the Paschal Victim, has been raised from the dead and this great mystery was beginning to be revealed.

Over the next 40 days, Jesus appeared several times to his disciples enabling them to embrace the reality of his resurrection.  Through these encounters and with Jesus’ help, they finally were able to comprehend the full tapestry of Jesus’ life of public ministry.

Easter was an opportunity for the disciples to begin anew, and it is an opportunity for all of us to begin anew. The joy of the Resurrection should be infused in us. Christ has removed our burial cloths, and we celebrate this today in the assembly of the faithful of community.  The whole community shouts for joy: Alleluia!  We should celebrate that new life with wholehearted singing and laughter. What has died within you has been changed into new life for the future. Throw open the windows, let in the light, and sing Alleluia! Mass today announces it firmly: Christ is risen from the dead and through this resurrection he has given us new life. Christ, who is our hope, our Redeemer, and our life, is with us.