Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 04-16-06, Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of the Lord

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 04-16-06 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

April 16, 2006

Easter Sunday
The Resurrection of the Lord
The Mass of Easter Day

Psalm: Sunday 18

Reading 1
Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Peter proceeded to speak and said:
“You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
and testify that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

R. (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.”
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II
Col 3:1-4

Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.

or

1 Cor 5:6b-8

Brothers and sisters:
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.

Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Gospel
Jn 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.

[Salvation]

[Salvation]

Vespers -- Evening Prayer

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
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. Alleluia.

---

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 109 (110)

The Messiah, king and priest

The Lord has said to my lord: “Sit at my right hand while I make your enemies into your footstool”.

From Sion the Lord will give you a sceptre, and you will rule in the midst of your foes.
Royal power is yours in the day of your strength, glorious and holy; from the time of your birth, before the dawn.

The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: “You are a priest for ever, a priest of the priesthood of Melchisedech”.
The Lord is at your right hand, and on the day of his anger he will shatter kings.

He will judge the nations, he will pile high their skulls;
he will drink from the stream as he goes – he will hold his head high.

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.

---

Psalm 113A (114)

Israel set free from Egypt

When Israel came out of Egypt, Jacob’s people from a land of strangers,
Judah became his sanctuary and Israel his domain.

The sea saw it, and fled; the Jordan flowed backwards at the sight;
the mountains leapt like rams; the hills, like yearling sheep.

Sea, what was it, what made you flee? And you, Jordan, why did you flow uphill?
Mountains, why did you leap like rams? Hills, like yearling sheep?

Tremble, Earth, at the presence of the Lord, the presence of the Lord of Jacob,
who has turned the rock into a pool of water and made a fountain out of the flint.

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.

---

Canticle	Apocalypse 19
The wedding of the Lamb
Alleluia. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, because his judgements are true and just. Alleluia. Alleluia. Praise our God, all his servants, and you who fear him, small and great. Alleluia. Alleluia. For the Lord reigns, our God, the Almighty: let us rejoice and exult and give him glory. Alleluia. Alleluia. The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his spouse has made herself ready. Alleluia. 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.

A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here.

Canticle	Magnificat
My soul rejoices in the Lord
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,  and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation. For he has shown me such favour –  me, his lowly handmaiden. Now all generations will call me blessed,  because the mighty one has done great things for me. His name is holy,  his mercy lasts for generation after generation  for those who revere him. He has put forth his strength:  he has scattered the proud and conceited,  torn princes from their thrones;  but lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things;  the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel,  he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers,  to Abraham and his children for ever. 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.

---

Prayers and Intercessions

?

Christ the Lord, who died and rose again, is always ready to give us help. Let us trustingly pray to him: - Victorious King, hear us. Christ, the light and salvation of all people, pour out the flame of your Spirit upon us as we proclaim your resurrection. May Israel recognise in you the fulfilment of its hopes and let all the world be filled with the knowledge of your glory. Make us part of the communion of your saints and let us rest from our labours in their company. You defeated the enemy, Death. Defeat also the enemy who is within us, let us be part of your undying victory. Christ, our saviour, you were obedient even to death, you were raised up to the right hand of the Father. Look kindly on your brethren and bring them to your glorious kingdom.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
 hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
 thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our trespasses
 as we forgive those that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
 but deliver us from evil.

A concluding prayer may follow here.

---

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Sunday, April 16, 2006 Meditation John 20:1-9 Easter Sunday Can’t you just imagine the conversation that God had with Jesus on the first Easter? So often we think about what God wants to say to us, but today let’s think about the joy and accolades that the Father gave to Jesus. “My Son, I am so glad that the trial is over and that you have triumphed. You endured the shame and the hatred of a people who did not understand that you came for them. Your love was shunned, yet you gave it so freely. I am so proud that you turned your cheek even when you were spit upon. I am so proud that you showed my people what true love looks like." “Thank you, my Son, for bringing my people home. Your death has torn in two the veil that separated us. Your blood has washed away their sins. No longer do they have to hide as Adam and Eve did. Instead, they can now come into the light and receive all the healing and joy I have stored up for them." “My Son, you are coming back to me. How I long to embrace you and clothe you in glory once more. You have defeated sin, and once more you can see me in my fullness. We are no longer separated! You are leaving those you have loved with an everlasting love, but each of them will join you one day in the kingdom, where the angels will dance and the elders will bow down in worship. That day is coming, Son, when we all will be together at last." “O my people, see the victory my Son has gained for you. Come join in the celebration feast. You were lost but are now found. You were blind but now can see. Come now, and share in our love!” “Dear Jesus, we love you! Thank you for your gift of eternal life. You have made it possible for us to return to the Father and to know his love intimately. Who are we that you would love us this much? No less than your very own children. All praise and glory to you now and forever!” Acts 10:34,37-43; Psalm 118:1-2,16-17,22-23; Colossians 3:1-4

[annalex]

Jn 20:1-9
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
1	And on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen cometh early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre: and she saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre.	una autem sabbati Maria Magdalene venit mane cum adhuc tenebrae essent ad monumentum et videt lapidem sublatum a monumento
2	She ran therefore and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and saith to them: They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre: and we know not where they have laid him.	cucurrit ergo et venit ad Simonem Petrum et ad alium discipulum quem amabat Iesus et dicit eis tulerunt Dominum de monumento et nescimus ubi posuerunt eum
3	Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple: and they came to the sepulchre.	exiit ergo Petrus et ille alius discipulus et venerunt ad monumentum
4	And they both ran together: and that other disciple did outrun Peter and came first to the sepulchre.	currebant autem duo simul et ille alius discipulus praecucurrit citius Petro et venit primus ad monumentum
5	And when he stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying: but yet he went not in.	et cum se inclinasset videt posita linteamina non tamen introivit
6	Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and went into the sepulchre: and saw the linen cloths lying,	venit ergo Simon Petrus sequens eum et introivit in monumentum et videt linteamina posita
7	And the napkin that had been about his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but apart, wrapped up into one place.	et sudarium quod fuerat super caput eius non cum linteaminibus positum sed separatim involutum in unum locum
8	Then that other disciple also went in, who came first to the sepulchre: and he saw and believed.	tunc ergo introivit et ille discipulus qui venerat primus ad monumentum et vidit et credidit
9	For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.	nondum enim sciebant scripturam quia oportet eum a mortuis resurgere

[annalex]

Empty Tomb

Giovanni Dragoni

Via Lucis, Italy

[Salvation]

Let There Be Life

by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

Other Articles by Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

Let There Be Life

04/17/06

The women set out early to carry out their somber task (Mk 16:1). It was the first day of the week, the day on which God had said “let there be light” (Gn 1). But their mood was black, for the One Who had called Himself the Light of the World lay cold in a dark tomb.

Death’s jaws had closed around Him, as the whale had swallowed Jonah. But death, like the whale, was in for an unpleasant surprise. It had gone too far. It had bitten off more than it could chew. The Light of the World burst out of its dark prison, leaving the cave’s gaping mouth open as if with astonishment. The women found an empty tomb. The jaws of death could not prevail against Him.

Aslan, the Lion King of The Chronicles of Narnia, explains the “deep magic” responsible for this: “When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead...death itself would start working backward.” In C.S. Lewis’s tale, Aslan not only rises from the stillness of death, but becomes a life-giving spirit, breathing new life into those turned to cold stone by the evil witch. Death begins working backward. An un-dying wave of warmth and life begins to rise, flowing forth from Aslan and reviving everyone in its relentless path.

Jesus died in the place of all traitors, not just one. And soon after the Innocent one had handed over His spirit, a trickle began from His pierced side that became a life-giving flood. Death began working backward. First it was the rigid body of the Lion that experienced the transformation. That body did not just return to the kind of life it had experienced before Good Friday. No, this metamorphosis was not just resuscitation but truly resurrection, the raising up to an entirely new, immortal kind of human existence.

Next it’s the disciples' turn. True, rigor mortis had not overtaken their bodies. But their hearts had been petrified by sin and fear. The Risen One breathes upon them, first in the upper room (Jn 20:20) then on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2). Their hearts turn from stone to flesh (Ez 36:26-28), capable of loving and giving in a way surpassing human capacity, with a power nothing less than divine.

The tsunami driven by the breath of the Lion washed over 3,000 people on that day. Like all tidal waves, this one is deadly, as Pharaoh and his chariots had found out (Ex 14). It destroys the destroyer who had held God’s people captive and inters the old life of slavery. The epistle from the Easter Vigil asks us this question: “Are you not aware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Rom 6: 3-11).

What an arrangement! The Lion of Judah suffers torture and death in actual fact, going down into a very real tomb. We share in the fruit of His victory by being buried only for a few seconds in the saving waters of baptism.

The risen life we experience as a result is very real. Our hearts are unfrozen, and we begin to live His risen life. Yet our bodies remain mortal. The tomb still lies open before us. But just give Him a bit more time — death has begun working backwards. As our spirits have been brought back to life, so will our bodies be. On that day we shall see Him with new, immortal eyes capable of enduring the blazing light of His majestic glory.

In the meantime, our responsibility is clear. We must allow the healing rays of the dawn from on high to penetrate every dark, dead corner of our hearts and souls. And also, with the women and the disciples, we must invite the whole world to romp with the victorious Lion as He routs death’s remaining strongholds and makes all things new.


Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He now directs www.crossroadsinitiative.com, which offers Catholic resources for RCIA, adult faith formation, and teens, with a special emphasis on the Year of the Eucharist, the Theology of the Body, the early Church Fathers, and the sacrament of confirmation.

(This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)

[Ciexyz]

He is risen indeed!

[Salvation]

I hope you had a blessed Easter!

[Ciexyz]

Praise the Lord for the empty tomb!

[Salvation]

Easter Sunday and the Octave of Easter

Liturgy of Easter Sunday and the Octave of Easter

An explanation of the liturgy of the Easter Masses.

DIRECTIONS

Easter is the "Feast of feasts", the "Solemnity of solemnities" and the "Great Sunday". Festive solemnity should mark all the Masses celebrated on Easter Sunday, the supreme day of the Christian year. One of the Easter Masses, in addition to the Vigil, should be solemnly sung. There are two exceptions to the usual sections (Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist) of the Mass. The Sequence is said and instead of the Profession of Faith, the congregation renews their baptismal promises. Throughout the Easter Octave, the sequence may be sung or said before the Gospel.

Sequence

Before the Gospel is proclaimed, the ancient sequence Victimae Paschali of Easter Sunday is read or sung. The Sequence (Sequentia) is the liturgical hymn of the Mass, which occurs on four feasts: Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi and Our Lady of Sorrows. This sequence, Victimae Paschali is attributed to Wipo of Burgundy, who was chaplain of the German Emperor Conrad II during the 11th century.

Christians, to the Paschal Victim
Offer your thankful praises!

A Lamb the sheep redeems: Christ,
who only is sinless,
Reconciles sinners to the Father.

Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous:
The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.

Speak, Mary, declaring
What you saw, wayfaring.
"The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of Jesus' resurrection;

Bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, my Christ my hope is arisen:

To Galilee he goes before you."
Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!

Amen. Alleluia.

The Alleluia verse throughout the week is "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad, Alleluia." There is also a special preface of Easter. And when the Eucharistic Prayer I is used, the special Easter forms of "In union with the whole Church":

In union of the whole Church
we celebrate that day (night)
when Jesus Christ, our Lord,
rose from the dead in his human body.

and "Father, accept this offering" (Hanc Igitur) is used.

Father, accept this offering
from your whole family
and from those born into the new life
of water and the Holy Spirit
with all their sins forgiven.
Grant us your peace in this life,
save us from final damnation,
and count us among those you have chosen.

Finally, at the dismissal, the deacon or priest sings or says:

Go in the peace of Christ, allelulia, alleluia.
or
The Mass is ended, go in peace, alleluia, alleluia.
or
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord, alleluia, alleluia.

Response: Thanks be to God, alleluia, allleluia.

Jennifer Gregory Miller Jennifer G. Miller

Activity Source: Original Text (JGM) by Jennifer Gregory Miller, © Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005 by Jennifer Gregory Miller

[Salvation]

 

 

 

[Salvation]

CHRIST IS RISEN AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION BLAZES THROUGH EUCHARIST

[adapted from Secrets of the Eucharist]:

Christ is risen and the power of His resurrection blazes through the Eucharist.

The formula for salvation was given to us at the Last Supper. Pray. Have faith. Love as Jesus loved. Be as humble as Christ was when He washed the feet of His disciples.

This, it is indicated, will lead to a pleasant afterlife. This is the safest way. This is the narrow gate.

Serve others. Serve God. Praise God. Love your Creator with all your heart.

Love the Trinity. Love the Holy Spirit. Love Christ.

If you do nothing else in life, love well. Love and suffer well. Love as Jesus loved on the Cross.

When we meditate on His goodness, as evidenced through the Resurrection, we are in touch with His Spirit, which transcends time and space (as indicated that Easter morning) and pervades the universe.

Praise Him every day. Praise the Risen Lord. When we praise and adore God, when we glorify Jesus, when our love is proven by how we endure our trials, we are invoking God in the most powerful fashion and can feel the peace of His love.