On Easter morning, John’s Gospel tells us that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark. Her Lord and Savior had just been crucified. It was still dark outside in the early morning hours when she visited the tomb. The darkness of the early morning hours was probably overshadowed by the spiritual darkness that consumed her that morning. Full of remorse, pain and frustration, Mary Magdalene believed that our Lord’s body had been stolen from the tomb. He had been put to death in the most violent way possible, but now his body cannot even be anointed in the Jewish burial tradition. This is a first sign for Mary Magdalene, for Peter and the beloved disciple, of knowing that something very special and very unique was happening. But they still no idea what all of this was about, about the full implications that the resurrection would have on their lives and their faith.
In the coming weeks, in our daily readings during the Easter season masses, we will hear of how the disciples tried to make sense of what was going on, of this new reality in their lives of faith. They thought everything they believe in had come to an end with Christ’s death. Now, the light of Christ’s resurrection has changed everything again.
We are living in a very different reality, too, so hopefully Christ’s resurrection will help us see things in a new light as well. We are probably feeling a whole range of feelings right now, with a lot of confusion and frustration amongst those feelings. And it has been so hard being away from our public masses and liturgies and from gathering as a faith community during most of Lent and all of Holy Week. We don’t know when the stay-at-home order will be lifted, but the joy of the resurrection is with us! Christ is risen! We will continue to stream masses and liturgies on Facebook Live. We will continue to journey together as a faith community during these challenging times. Blessings to all of you this Easter season!
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