God of the Coming Kingdom,
Before the sun rose on Easter morning, the stone to the tomb was rolled away and you raised your Son, Jesus, to new life. We stand in faith with this belief: if we join ourselves to Jesus, the grave will not hold us either. We will rise to new and eternal life with him. Give us the constant hope that a new day will come, a day where all sadness and suffering will end: a day where pure joy, happiness, and ecstasy only begins and never ends. May that day come soon.

Today we celebrate the first Monday of Easter. The Gospel reading picks up where we left off yesterday: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb, there was an earthquake and an angel spoke to the women telling them not to be afraid but Jesus is not there in the tomb because he has been raised from the dead. They saw he was gone and left to tell the other disciples as instructed.

We pick up the story hear from the Gospel of St. Matthew (Mt. 28:8-10)

If you were the disciples, how do you think you would have reacted to the news that Jesus, your friend, your teacher, your hope for the future, is risen from the dead? What is your reaction today?

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/EjT7OvQMlQg

Just like the people in the video, we should be just as excited today! Jesus is risen! It's not a hoax or fake news or a fable, but it's real. Jesus is risen from the dead!!! How did the soldiers explain it away?

We continue today's Gospel reading to how the Roman soldiers and chief priests covered up what really happened...

Read Mt. 28:11-15

There have been lots of explanations to account for what happened...the body was stolen, Jesus wasn't really dead, as well as others. If you were one of the soldiers, how would you have reacted? Let's imagine that exact scenario as we watch this video...

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/YlioqPnXZXc

We know that Christ is Risen, and the power of His resurrection fills the world today with new life. With hope and expectation, we therefore bring him all our needs. Please respond with “Lord, hear our prayer.”

That the Church may boldly and faithfully proclaim the Resurrection of Christ to those who do not yet believe in it, we pray to the Lord...

That the leaders of the Church may embody the mysteries of new life, which we celebrate in our liturgy, we pray to the Lord...

That the leaders of our nations and world may give priority to those with greatest need in the distribution of the world's basic resources, we pray to the Lord...

That in the light of Christ's victory over death, nations may work together to overcome violence against all, especially the poor, the weak, and the unborn, we pray to the Lord...

That the newly baptized and confirmed, and those received into full communion with the Catholic Church, may continue to grow with this community in worship and service, let us pray to the Lord...

That those who have died may one day share in the promise of new love one for us by the resurrection, we pray to the Lord...

Heavenly Father,
We know by the promise of Easter that Jesus is alive—he is the Lord of life. May our minds and hearts show the risen life we now share with Christ. Help us to truly be Easter people.
Alleluia! Amen.

Link to Video: hthttps://youtu.be/IExdrZGQVeI