Today, we celebrate the heart of the Christian faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1139 says: “Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the “Feast of feasts,” the “Solemnity of solemnities,” just as the Eucharist is the “Sacrament of sacraments” (the Great Sacrament). St. Athanasius calls Easter “the Great Sunday.” Today’s liturgy reminds us of the value Christ’s resurrection to our faith. The new life and the new perspective of our faith in Christ should be at the foremost of our celebration. There are 3 important events that should provide us depth of faith through the accounts of the readings today.

1. The Holy Eucharist- We were told in the first reading today regarding one of the first things Jesus did with the Apostles when He rose from the dead. Peter testified: “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.” To eat and drink meant the celebration of the “breaking of the bread” which was called “fractio panis.” John Paul II said: “The “breaking of the bread” refers to the Eucharist. Two thousand years later, we continue to relive that primordial image of the Church. At every celebration of the Eucharist, we are spiritually brought back to the paschal Triduum: to the events of the evening of Holy Thursday, to the Last Supper and to what followed it.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 3)

2. The Empty Tomb- The empty tomb became the heart of the proclamation of the early Church disciples. The empty tomb refers to the mystery of the resurrection of Christ. There are three features here: first, the new tomb that was used to bury Jesus became new again but in a different mode. Earlier it was intended for someone, no one was yet buried in the tomb- it was new. Yet, after the resurrection it became still a new tomb illustrating the identity of Jesus who is ever new and eternal newness. Second, the empty tomb illustrated the temporariness of death and the transition to a new dimension of life that is now linked to the divinity of Christ. Third, the stone that covered the tomb symbolized the end or closing of the earthly journey of Christ. But the stone that rolled down during the resurrection symbolized the new journey of Christ which was no longer earthly by a journey back to the seat of the Father. This illustrates that there are things that we should leave behind and open new horizons of faith and love because of the grace of the resurrection. Pope Francis said on Easter Sunday of 2023: “Sometimes we too may think that the joy of our encounter with Jesus is something belonging to the past, whereas the present consists mostly of sealed tombs: tombs of disappointment, bitterness and distrust, of the dismay of thinking that “nothing more can be done”, “things will never change”, “better to live for today”, since “there is no certainty about tomorrow”. If we are prey to sorrow, burdened by sadness, laid low by sin, embittered by failure or troubled by some problem, we also know the bitter taste of weariness and the absence of joy.”

3. The value of being a witness- The resurrection of Jesus Christ did not remain a private affair of Christ but eventually it created an array of witnesses. Being a witness of the resurrection created a new direction of life among those who believed in Christ. They all boldly said that “we are all witnesses of these things.” There are 3 things involved here: first, there was the passage from disappointment to joy. Pope Francis said that the women, “upon arriving and seeing the empty tomb, they turn around and retrace their steps. They leave the tomb behind and run to the disciples to proclaim a change of course: Jesus is risen and awaits them in Galilee. In their lives, those women experienced Easter as a Pasch, a passage. They pass from walking sorrowfully towards the tomb to running back with joy to the disciples to tell them not only that the Lord is risen, but also that they are to set out immediately to reach a destination, Galilee.” Second, to be a witness means to be able experience a rebirth in the faith and new perspective of life. Again, Pope Francis said: “The rebirth of the disciples, the resurrection of their hearts, passes through Galilee. Let us enter into this journey of the disciples from the tomb to Galilee.” Third, to be a witness means to have new meaning to tangible things that are linked to divine revelation and divine presence. An example to this were the burial cloths and that used to cover the head of Jesus was already rolled up that the witnesses saw inside the tomb. This indicated that there were already implied witnesses during the Resurrection aside from the women who came to the tomb. We would think that even the Mother of Jesus would be among the first witnesses. It is impossible to think about Mary who would not be one of the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. Thus, the creation of witnesses of Christ is an event of the Spirit in the mystery of the resurrection.

The second Sunday of Easter is also the Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a moment when we focus on the mercy of God through the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection to deeply show that His Passion, Death and resurrection are manifestations of His mercy. Everything depends on God’s mercy. The readings today show the effects of God’s mercy to all believers. When Jesus rose from the death, one of the discernible and profound effects was the traces of His mercy. There are 5 indicators of God’s dynamic mercy shown to those who were witnesses of the Risen Christ.

1. Communion- we were told in the first reading that the disciples were being brought together by the Holy Spirit to be “one heart and one mind.” The power of coming together as believers was more than what reason could imagine and explain. In the second reading, St. John calls us “children of God.” In the Old Testament, the People of Israel gathered because of the commandments of the Lord, but in the mystery of the resurrection, the people gathered because of the life endowed to the community because of the new life of Christ.

2. Charity- the community of believers were living in charity. One of the effects of the resurrection was the link between communion and charity. The mystery of the resurrection has made the inseparability between communion and charity. Benedict XVI said “Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community.” (Deus Caritas Est 20) The resurrection of Jesus solidified the relationship between communion and charity. We were told that “there was no needy person among them.”

3. Hierarchy- Leadership was one of the earliest gifts of the resurrection of the Lord. Those who gathered in communion because of the mystery of the resurrection recognized leaders of the believing community. We were told that after the believers sold those things they had, their proceeds were placed at the feet of the apostles. This is a gesture of leadership of the apostles acknowledged by the people the Apostles were witnesses of Christ and therefore the strongest link between the believing community and Christ. The apostles in turn distributed the goods to “each according to their need.”

4. Peace- the resurrection of the Lord brings a new peace to every human heart. In the Gospel today, Jesus greeted His disciples “Peace be with you” three times. The first greeting of peace was the link between peace and the sufferings of Christ; the second greeting of peace was the connection between peace and mission in the Holy Spirit; and the third greeting of peace was the relationship between peace and faith. In the resurrection of Christ, peace is no longer just a mere greeting but a new perspective of life and the status of a true follower of Christ.

5. Signs- the mystery of signs was mentioned by John the Evangelist.  He assured us that there were many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.” Signs are to be source of faith and there were signs witnessed and there were signs also which escapes the description of writing. These signs were meaningful and salvific because of the resurrection.

The third Sunday of Easter becomes a rediscovery and a revisiting of the events that transpired in Jerusalem which we call the Paschal Mystery. The readings today speak of the identity of Jesus. He is not only the Risen Lord but the traces of their experiences with Him make us understand His identity and meaningfully celebrate Him more profoundly. There are 7 portraits of who Jesus is for our reflection.

1. Servant- the First Reading brings us back to one of the speeches of Peter about Jesus after His resurrection as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. To identify Jesus as the “Servant” reveals the truth about the Suffering Servant mentioned by Isaiah 42:1–4; Isaiah 49:1–6; Isaiah 50:4–11; and Isaiah 52:13–53:12. Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. He is the Servant who will do the Father’s will to the end.

2. Holy One- Peter recognizes Jesus as the Holy One of Israel. He is the God who dwells among us and became like us in all things except sin. Peter spoke that the mystery of the resurrection is a concrete proof that Jesus is God. If a belief circulates that adheres Jesus is just merely man would miss the entire purpose of the resurrection account as well as the value of witnesses of Jesus alive.

3. Righteous One- Both first and second readings speak of Jesus as the Righteous One. This means that Jesus is the innocent One who was brought like a lamb to the slaughter house to be killed and used as an oblation. The first reading speaks of Jesus as the Righteous one because of His identity as God. In the Second Reading, St. John the Evangelist understands Jesus as the Righteous One because He is the expiation of our sins.

4. Author of Life- the rising to New Life by Christ made the early Christians associate Jesus with New Life. New life can only be endowed by God. Therefore, the confession of Jesus as the “author of life,” the first reading confesses that Jesus is God. The humanity of Jesus suffered and underwent the realities of finiteness but He is the author of life who can change and set life in a new direction. Peter said: “The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.”

5. Christ- In the second reading today, John the Evangelist did not fail to mention Jesus is the “Christ” which means “anointed.” This title was already used in the Old Testament which refer to the anointing of kings, prophets, and priests. But Jesus is the “christos” or the “anointed” of God who becomes the prophet, king, and priest. He is the “anointed” who is directly linked to “repentance” and “forgiveness of sins.”

6. Advocate- In the second reading, John the Evangelist recognizes Jesus as the “Advocate” who intercedes for us to the Father. He is the one who stands with us as we pray to the Father. John said that Jesus is with the Father and His primary role is to forgive our sins and the sins of the world. He said: “But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.”

7. Bread of Life- The Gospel is the continuing story of the disciples to Emmaus. Jesus is recognized by the disciples at the “breaking of the bread.” Jesus identifies Himself with the breaking of the bread (fractio panis) which we call the Holy Eucharist. The image of the Bread has been linked by the Gospel as the fulfillment of the Promised Messiah, the Paschal Mystery, and the mission. Jesus finally told them “you are witnesses of all these things.”

The fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus will confess about His identity before His disciples by saying: “I am the Good Shepherd” This phrase is very important for us to know in order for us to worship and praise Jesus for who he truly is. When Jesus says: “I am the Good Shepherd” He actually confesses that He is God. Therefore, the Easter Season provides us the sufficient information and detail that indeed Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. He is the God who is the Emmanuel and the God who took the form of a “slave” in order for us to be saved through His humility and self-emptiness. There are three things that Jesus points to reveal His divinity.

1. I am- In the Old Testament, God identified Himself and gave His name to Moses as “I Am.” The book of Exodus 3:13-14 records Moses’ conversation with Yahweh, when the latter desired to rescue the people of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. “Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

2. Good- Jesus identifies Himself as the “Good” Shepherd. The word “good” is used not merely as an adjective to describe simply the “Shepherd” but this word has a deeper meaning. This refers to a noun rather than a description. If we are to seek a deeper understand the word, we have to trace it to one of the events in Jesus’ ministry. Recorded in Mark 10:17-18, we were told that there was a young man who ran and came to do homage to Jesus. He said: “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’ answer was: “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” Thus, by using the word “good” by Jesus, He was already alluding to His hidden identity which is to be revered and worshipped. Jesus is God. This passage of John’s Gospel describes fully what the early community confessed about Jesus’ identity which is His divinity.

3. Shepherd- God is portrayed as a Shepherd who guides and pastures His people. In the Old Testament, the psalmist says: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want” (Psalm 23:1) In the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, God is known to be the Great Shepherd who provides shepherds to guide His people. The prophet spoke in the name of God: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart” (Jer. 3:15). This became the reason for the author of the letter to the Hebrews 13:20 to describe Jesus as the “Great Shepherd.” The letter reads: “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant…” Thus, when Jesus calls Himself as the “Good Shepherd” then, the easter joy of the early disciples revolves around from a confession of Jesus’ divinity and identity. Jesus is God. Realizing this was celebrating easter with a perfect grace.

In the Gospel today, Jesus identifies Himself as the vine and we are all the branches. The Gospel of John quotes only 27 verses or references from the Old Testament; Matthew has 124 verbal allusions; Mark has 70; and while Luke has 109. John has subtle ways of using the verses of the Old Testament to illustrate more vividly the identity of Jesus. Let us remember how Jesus introduced Himself. In John 1:9, Jesus said that he is the “true” light. In John 6:32, Jesus said that He is the “true” bread. And in John 15:1 Jesus said that He is the true vine. The word “true” catches our first attention about Jesus’ identity. The word “true” comes from the Greek word “alethinos” which means “real.” The words of Jesus: “I am the True Vine” provides us a reflection about the identity of Jesus understood by the early church. Let us reflect on these words of Jesus.

1. I am- Jesus used these words “I Am” to reveal His true identity before His disciples. The words “I Am” appeared in the Old Testament as the name of the God whom Moses was commissioned to go and face Pharaoh and bring the Israelites to the mountain where they would gather. By using “I Am,” Jesus now reveals His true nature as truly God and truly man.

2. True- Jesus speaks of Himself as the true vine. We may ask why “true.” In the Old Testament, Israel was considered as the vine. In Psalm 80:8 the Psalmist regarded Israel as the vine: “You brought the vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.” Jesus speaks of Himself as the True vine because Israel became unfaithful to the Lord. In Hosea, Israel was considered as the vine. “Israel was a fertile vine that yielded fruit.” But what may have been the response to the goodness of the Lord was the infidelity of Israel and it became a parched land without water.

3. Vine- Jesus is the true vine planted in Israel. This has to be interpreted in relation to the Mystery of the Incarnation. Jesus is the one who became flesh and became the Emmanuel. Israel became the vineyard of the Lord and the vine is Jesus who was planted-which means He is the God who was born to us. Thus, the Gospel reminds us tat we are the branches of the vine; we are alive because of Christ who became tangible to us.

The sixth Sunday of Easter focuses on love. It is greatest of all virtues because by virtue of its origin and goal. John the Evangelist confesses: “Deus Caritas Est” (God is Love). Benedict XVI remarks that when we say “God is Love:” 1) it expresses “with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith” 2) the Christian image of God and 3) the resulting image of mankind and its destiny.” The readings today prompt us to reflect how love is revealed to us as a gift, as a force, and as a virtue. Let us look into 5 things revealed to us here.

1. Friend- In the Gospel today, Jesus said to His disciples: “You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing.” Jesus prefers the word “friend” to call His disciples over the word “slave” because “friend” comes from the Latin word “amicus” which has the same root word with “love.” Love is translated as “amare” in Latin. The word “slave” draws its origin from the word “servus” which means “servant.” For Christ, being a friend is greater than being a servant.

2. God- John confesses the theological identity of God. “God is love” makes us understand the centrality of love in our Christian faith because “love” is identified with God. As God central to our faith, and so is love. Love becomes our fundamental response to God who loves us. Benedict XVI mentions three important points to ponder with regard to the relationship between God and love. First, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” Second, “in acknowledging the centrality of love, Christian faith has retained the core of Israel's faith, while at the same time giving it new depth and breadth.” And third, “Since God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere “command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.” (Deus Caritas Est, no. 1).

3. Word- Listening to the word makes love become a living force and meaningful grace. We were told that when the Gentiles began to listen to the word which was preached to them, they came to believe and the “Holy Spirit fell upon those who were listening to the word.” Through the “word” the hearts of those who listen are drawn towards the gifts of the Holy Spirit especially joy and wonder. Benedict XVI says: “The Spirit, in fact, is that interior power which harmonizes their hearts with Christ’s heart and moves them to love their brethren as Christ loved them, when he bent down to wash the feet of the disciples (cf. Jn 13:1-13) and above all when he gave his life for us (cf. Jn 13:1, 15:13).” (Deus Caritas Est 19).

4. Universality- Love manifests as inclusively dynamic. Love does not reside in oneself but it flows and travels to the other. In the first reading today, Peter reacted: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” This is the reason why the Jews who were with Peter became inclusive and “were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God.”

5. Water- The cleansing image of water becomes part of the mystery of love. Water is linked with the sacrament of baptism because through the power of the Holy Spirit, one is cleansed from his sins. The purifying grace of the sacrament renews and makes one born anew. And so, with love, love renews and purifies the person. Benedict XVI said: “love is never “finished” and complete; throughout life, it changes and matures, and thus remains faithful to itself.” (Deus Caritas Est, 17)

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord marks the conclusion of the earthly ministry of Jesus. Today also marks the 40th day since Jesus resurrected from death. A count of 40 among the Jews meant a cycle of life. Jesus stayed with His disciples with a renewed nature. He was hardly recognized until he spoke to them, lived with them, and celebrated the Holy Eucharist before them. The Solemnity of the Ascension closes His earthly ministry and the period of the preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. There are 3 things to reflect on this solemnity.

1. Witnesses- the solemnity of the Ascension provides us the information of how Jesus solidified His disciples to be witnesses of His ministry both before and after the resurrection. Jesus loved His disciples and He desired that the link between Himself and His disciples would be the continuing witnessing of Himself. We were told that “he presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

2. Seat- the ascension of the Lord means Jesus Christ goes back to His nature and disposition before the mystery of the Incarnation happened. This is what St. Luke said: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.” Thus, heaven is not a place nor is it a conceivable space. It is about going back to Father. But the question is: where is now the body of Christ. The Body of Christ now is the Church. This is the profound mystery He left to us during this event. In the second reading today, St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians says: “and he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body.”

3. Wisdom- The event of the Ascension of the Lord somehow indicates the need of the Holy Spirit to come to the Apostles and to the Church. This is the moment Jesus had to send the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. The disciples thought always that Jesus came to restore the Kingdom to Israel. We were told “When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.” This indicated that the disciples’ understanding was limited and only focused in Israel. Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection were for all people. They needed the Holy Spirit for them to understand the entire event of Christ.